WATERTOWN — The condemned Factory Street building that brought homelessness in the city to light last summer could reopen in about a month.
When the building at 661 Factory St. was condemned last summer, dozens of residents were left without any place to stay, so they ended up in a tent city on the property.
But now the building’s owner, Linda Mercer, has retained former city firefighter and code enforcement inspector Todd DeMar to help her get it reopened.
Mr. DeMar, who owns St. Lawrence Consulting, said he would not comment because he has a confidentiality agreement with owner.
Dana Aikins, the city’s code enforcement supervisor, confirmed that he’s working with Mr. DeMar to determine what it would take to rescind the condemnation and reopen the apartment building.
They’ve been going through the items that caused the building to be condemned and what kind of work the building needs to reopen, Mr. Aikins said.
“It wouldn’t take a lot,” Mr. Aikins said. “It’s mostly maintenance items.”
If the remaining code violations could be fixed, the apartment building could reopen in about a month or possibly before that, he said.
The building was condemned for code violations for electrical and plumbing hazards, a fire alarm malfunction, an infestation and feces on walls, which has mostly been resolved over the past year.
“The electrical was the biggest issue,” he said.
The cost of getting the building reopened is now estimated between $10,000 and $20,000.
Councilman Cliff G. Olney III has been interested in the building as a way to help combat homelessness. If the building can reopen, it would add about 50 units, he said.
“It’s the homeless and affordable housing for the homeless,” he said of why he became involved in trying to get the apartment back in use.
During the past year or so, the Jefferson County Department of Social Services lost about 200 units for housing for its clients after the Rainbow Motel burned down in 2020, the Hotis Motel was closed and Carthage’s Pleasant Night Inn stopped an arrangement with DSS, he said.
Mr. Demar was again talking about the situation with Mr. Aikins on Thursday morning for 45 minutes as they continue to discuss a plan to fix up the building. The fire alarm system would need to be repaired and the plumbing system modified, the code enforcement supervisor said.
The owner plans to remove all the carpeting and replace it with laminate and add a laundry room in the basement, he said.
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