The town of Rumford has issued a request for proposals for the sale and redevelopment of a historic downtown building at 109 Congress St.
Known as the Clough & Pillsbury Building, it was listed in 2018 by Maine Preservation as one of the state’s “Most Endangered Historic Places.”
According to the RFP, the board of selectmen “will make a subjective decision taking into consideration price offered, taxable value created, proposed redevelopment use along with other tangible and intangible aspects of the proposal.”
The minimum sale price is set at $1, although there are also outstanding back taxes, according to the RFP. The RFP is open until July 26.
According to Maine Preservation, William Clough and Walter Pillsbury opened a hardware business in the building in 1916.
Historic features
The three-story building, approximately 6,000 square feet, is wood-frame with a brick façade. The storefront has a leaded prismatic glass transom with “Clough & Pillsbury” inset in colored glass. Now vacant, the building also housed a Sherwin-Williams paint store and a thrift store. The upper floors retain several historic hardware displays and inventory, including cutlery, stoves, tinware, paints, fishing tackle and sporting goods.
The town took ownership through tax foreclosure in 2009. At one point, a snowplow struck a back corner of the building, which allowed water to infiltrate the basement. Much of the original detailing remains intact throughout the building, mostly on the upper floors.
Economic development director George O’Keefe told Mainebiz the building is a contributing structure in the town’s national historic district. At one time, he said, “A lot of folks felt it should be demolished.”
The town held onto the building through the past decade while questions around its condition and around environmental concerns were addressed, he said.
The building turns out to be in better condition than initially thought, he said.
“It’s a rehabilitation candidate,” he said.
There’s a small amount of asbestos-containing materials, mainly pipe insulation. Hazardous waste includes mercury-containing fluorescent bulbs and potentially a toxic coolant known as PCB in certain light ballasts as well as paint thinners and associated paint products, according to the RFP. The town has determined the location of the hazardous materials. The development proposal must include removal and remediation.
Solid interest
The time is ripe for the building’s rehabilitation and reuse, O’Keefe said.
“The economy in our area is really doing well and the commercial and residential real estate markets are doing well,” he said.
The town has so far heard from six interested parties, he said. One is from outside the state and the rest are local.
In the decision, he explained, the select board will focus on the creation of taxable value. “We want someone who can come in and have a use that’s generally compatible with the rest of downtown: food service, restaurants, bars, things like that,” he said.
Rumford’s rise in value is shown by the recent sale of 136 Congress St., which housed a restaurant.
“It sold at auction for quite a bit more than expected,” he said. The real estate sold for $50,000 and the equipment sold for about $7,500. The winning bidder was also on the hook for overdue taxes and utility bills.
“So the effective price of the property was $62,000,” he said. “That was about double what most people thought the maximum value was. Everyone said it would sell for no more than $30,000.”
Why the rise?
“We think he town has turned the corner,” O’Keefe continued.
That includes ND Paper LLC’s purchase in June 2018 of the former Catalyst Paper Corp.’s mills in Rumford and Biron, Wisc., with an expected investment of $111 million at the Rumford mill and an expected gain of 50 jobs there.
Also, a 63-room Best Western hotel is planned for downtown Rumford, expected to create about 19 jobs and help meet growing lodging needs in the area. Rumford has been without a hotel for some time, and the development is expected to help revitalize the downtown area, FAME said in its news release. Rumford is a gateway to the Rangeley Lakes area and Maine’s western mountains, including nearby Black Mountain and Sunday River, which offer ski and snowmobile trails.
“The new mill ownership, over the past year, ha given everyone tremendous reason for hope,” O’Keefe said. “The area, generally speaking, has picked back up with regard to tourism. Every industry and sector in Rumford is growing.”
