Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 10/26/2023
WARREN — The town of Warren recently announced it was seeking proposals for potential Wright’s Mill recovery planning services, according to the Town Administrator’s Office.
The request, which was released on Oct. 5, specified that all proposed services must come from licensed professionals and give detailed information on contractors’ experience, legal history, available technology and past projects, as well as a full report on the project’s predicted costs.
The search was initiated after the town received an Economic Development Administration grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, financially enabling the town to properly assess public land around Wright’s Mill that could economically benefit the community.
While the mill is privately owned and currently unused, the town is optimistic that identifying and developing the surrounding public land will encourage future development at the mill, Town Administrator James Ferrera said.
Before the mill officially closed in 2006, it was “a huge economic engine for the town,” Ferrera explained, stating that at its peak the mill employed “several hundred” local workers.
Over the course of its use, the 600,000-square-foot textile complex changed owners multiple times. As the economy changed, owners began to sell divisions of the company, gradually reducing the number of workers, Ferrera stated.
“The mill was transforming and as it was transforming, it got smaller and smaller,” Ferrera said, emphasizing how the mill’s closing economically hurt the town.
The town of Warren previously requested planning service proposals this past spring, but none were received. While the town is hopeful that proposals will be sent in this time, documents can only be received until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, according to the Town Administrator’s Office.
As with all federal grants, the money received by the town of Warren must be utilized within a specified timeline. For the Wright’s Mill EDA grant, the original deadline was June 14, 2024, but Ferrera negotiated to extend the timeline until Dec. 23, 2024.
If a proposal is accepted by the Town Administrator’s Office, the office would move into finalizing the price of the suggested changes, which could include developments such as fixing water or sewer lines, improving nearby roads or modifying the neighborhood adjacent to the mill, Ferrera said. If a proposal is not accepted before the deadline and another request is not made before the December 2024 deadline, the town will need to ask the Department of Commerce for another extension.