WATERBURY — A contractor hired by the city began demolition of a portion of the former Anaconda American Brass complex on Freight Street early Friday.
Workers with Costello Dismantling Co. began using a hydraulic excavator with a 105-foot reach to pick apart an brick office building on one corner of the property shortly before 8 a.m.
The Massachusetts-based company has six months to dismantle eight buildings on the site, ranging from the massive brick production building fronting Freight Street, to smaller storage buildings.
The city is using $1 million of a $1.5 million state grant for the effort.
WATERBURY – Demolition begins at the former Anaconda American Brass complex off Freight Street.
Mayor Neil O’Leary said the city is applying for additional funds from the state for subsequent underground testing for underground pollution and cleanup.
The aim is to ultimately get the site ready for redevelopment. But clearing away the crumbling eyesore at one of the main gateways to the downtown will be an immediate benefit, O’Leary said.
“Ultimately, we need that to be a shovel-ready, environmentally clean site, so we can solicit people who are interested in developing,” O’Leary said. “It’s going to be a really good feeling to see this start happening. It’s just another brownfield site we’ve been able to tackle.”
The site has been used for metals manufacturing since the 1800s. In the 1970s through the early 2000s, it was used by Environmental Waste Resources, a company that specialized in treating and disposing of industrial waste. For a portion of that time, the property was concurrently used by Phoenix Soil, a company that treated contaminated soils by burning off pollution. Phoenix Soil was the last entity to use a potion of the property, moving in 2011.
The city claimed 10.5 acres of the property for unpaid taxes late last year and is in court seeking to claim an adjacent 3.5-acre parcel.
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