Copyright berkshireeagle
LEE — Once left to crumble into disrepair, three of the town’s historic mills are being considered for redevelopment. Through a partnership with the University of Connecticut’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields Program, town officials have envisioned possibilities for the dilapidated former Columbia, Greylock and Mountain mills. Visualizations from UConn, presented at a Select Board meeting last week, depict the former Columbia and Greylock mills becoming business complexes, with the former Mountain Mill site transformed into a recreation area that includes outdoor seating. While the plans do not reflect a commitment from the town to pursue any of the proposed ideas, Town Planner Brooke Healy said that the partnership has been an important first step in understanding what the future could look like for the deteriorated buildings — and how the town can become more accommodating to economic development. If the town decides to redevelop any of the sites, Healy said, the first step would be looking at town bylaws to identify any potential restrictions that could impede progress. Those would be addressed at the next town meeting in May. In the meantime, potential bylaw changes will be a recurring topic of discussion at planning board meetings. Once at the vanguard of a thriving local paper economy, each of the former paper mills have sat vacant for years. Columbia Mill and Greylock Mill are owned by Lenox Development LLC, a private company, and have sat vacant since they were purchased in 2014. The Mountain Mill was previously owned by the Lake May Power Co., which dissolved in 2017. In their heyday the mills produced everything from cigarette papers and grease-proof food packaging to newsprint for The New York Times. Mountain Mill, sometimes also called the Greenwood Mill, is at 20 Forest St. and has been owned by the town of Lee since 2021 following the property’s foreclosure. The Columbia and Greylock mills are adjacent to each other, at 157 Columbia St. and 715 Columbia St., respectively. The company’s plans to transform the Greylock Mill into a cannabis dispensary have yet to be realized after development stalled and the cannabis license expired. While the town has no plans to purchase the properties, Healy said, Lee has a "good relationship" with the company that owns them and believes that a collaboration is feasible. Each property presents its own safety concerns. The UConn assessment notes that both Greylock and Columbia mills have served as temporary hazardous waste storage sites, and that the former Mountain Mill is near two former landfill sites.
