Wastewater upgrade proposal could allow American Tourister Mill project to move forward

WARREN – A cost-sharing proposal for a wastewater system upgrade could allow the long-awaited American Tourister Mill project to move forward to construction.
The 19th century mill, owned by the same partners who previously redeveloped the Slater Cotton Mill in Pawtucket and Grant Mill in Providence, would be converted to 280 apartments and 100,000 square-feet of retail space, according to Caroline Wells, the Warren director of planning and community development.
The project is also expected to include a much-anticipated river walk, open to the public.
Brady Sullivan Properties, which owns the site in a partnership with Starr Development, has proposed to spend $1.4 million to upgrade the town’s North Pump Station on Main Street, adding a force-main that will accommodate the anticipated flow from the mixed-use development, according to a memo from Wells.
The development company would then be partially repaid by the town, potentially through abated property taxes, with the company eventually recouping $770,000 over a five-year span.
Under the proposal, which has to be approved by the Town Council, the company would cover 45 percent of the upgrade expense, while the town would cover 55 percent, according to Wells. Representatives of the development company could not be reached Monday.
Improvements would begin with the first phase of the project construction, and would be turned over to the town once the project receives a certificate of occupancy.
This month, interior demolition work began at the mill, Wells said. But as a condition of its preliminary plan approval, an agreement had to be in place as to how to address the wastewater generated by the completed project.
The proposed arrangement would correct the town’s deferred maintenance of its pump station, which now serves most of the Main Street business area, said Wells, and could potentially relieve the town of those costs.
In an interview Monday, Wells said the completed mill project is expected to generate about 25 percent of the wastewater flow to the pump station, with the remainder coming from other businesses and residences.
According to a summary of the financial cost-sharing plan, the mill project will generate $79,000 in property taxes through construction, rising to $435,759 on completion within five years.

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