North Adams Mill Being Primed for Redevelopment
 Plans for the Cariddi Mill include residential and commercial operations. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The potential buyers of the Cariddi Mill on State Road are applying for a brownfields covenant to aid in the redevelopment of the massive structure.
Greylock Works LLC is apparently planning to invest millions into the 342,000-square-foot complex.
Greylock Works and the nonprofit Greylock Flume Inc. were established in May and June, respectively.
According to documents filed for the covenant, Greylock Works "plans extensive, phased development, including retail, manufacturing, restaurant and hotel operations."
The principals are Karla Rothstein and Salvatore Perry of Latent Productions, an architectural design firm in New York City.
The mill, owned by the Cariddi family since 1976, has been under a purchase-and-sales agreement for some time but the parties involved have declined to divulge any information until the sale was completed. The closing had been anticipated in early July.
A public notice of the developers' intent to enter into a Brownfields Not to Sue Agreement, a state program designed to encourage the cleanup and development of abandoned or underutilized industrial sites by eliminating potential litigation, was recently published in The Berkshire Eagle to alert potentially affected third parties. The notice states the "liability relief is necessary to provide assurance to lenders and tenants at the Greylock Mill."
The notice details that the main complex at 508 State Road, on the south side of Route 2, occupying 7.85 acres, would be redeveloped for both commercial and residential use. The second parcel, on the north side of the highway, would be owned by the nonprofit Greylock Flume and includes the stone tunnel exit of a "water power tail race" that once powered the former textile mill.
"Greylock Flume, Inc. will commit to containment of the waste in the tail race located on Parcel B. As funding becomes available, the tail race could be cleaned and opened to the public," the notice states.
The nonprofit anticipates conserving the area for potential use as "parkland and recreation area for the general public," noting its proximity to the Hoosic River and the Appalachian Trail.
The main portion of the mill dates to the 1870s and originally was the Greylock Mills Corp., holding more than 1,200 looms. The building was purchased from Consolidated Aluminum Corp. by the late James V. Cariddi in 1976 for his wholesale distribution company; a number of other companies, including Novtex Corp., were located there as well. According to its listing on Burnham Gold Real Estate, more than a dozen companies were most recently using the buildings.
The property was put up for sale by Cariddi's daughters, Antoinette Cariddi and state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi, nearly two years ago. The initial price was $1.2 million but that had been reduced to $950,000.
The mill is one of two proposed redevelopments along State Road. The Beyond Place LLC, which appears to be a subsidiary of Broder Properties of Boston, purchased the Redwood Motel for $350,000 in April. Beyond Place lists Eric Svenson (managing and founding partner of Broder), Benjamin Svenson and Dana Nielson as principals. It has been rumored that a member of the band Wilco was somehow involved in the project.
Eric Kerns, representing Beyond Place, appeared before the Planning Board in June to notify the city that the motel would be used for guests of the owners during the Solid Sound Festival and that it would be getting some much needed cleaning and cosmetic work.
Kerns has declined to expand on what the plans are for the property, other than telling the board that the site had "great potential" and he would be before them again with more information.
Tags: mill reuse, motels, hotels, redevelopment,
