Borough grants developers option

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The property shown here is known as Parcel C in downtown Naugatuck. The building here, known as Building 25, will be torn down next month and two developers plan to build a medical office complex and restaurant on the site. –RA ARCHIVE
The property shown here is known as Parcel C in downtown Naugatuck. The building here, known as Building 25, will be torn down and two developers plan to build a medical office complex and restaurant on the site. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — Two developers are hoping to breathe life into the long-vacant Parcel C.

The Board of Mayor and Burgesses approved an agreement Tuesday night that gives Cheshire-based Oris Inc. and Prospect-based Lombard Group LLC the option for exclusive developing rights of Parcel C for 180 days.

This means the 2.1 acre property on the corner of Maple and Water streets would come off the market for that time to allow the developers to move forward with their plans.

The companies are owned by Robert Oris, a Naugatuck native who now lives in Cheshire, and John Lumbard.

According to Ron Pugliese, CEO of the Naugatuck Economic Development Corporation, the developers are talking about building a two-to-three-story medical facility and a free-standing 5,000-square-foot restaurant on the property. The restaurant would not have a drive-thru, officials said.

“I’m very happy about the fact that we’re making a start and that we have something concrete,” Pugliese said. “We’ve worked very hard to get something going on any one of the vacant parcels we have downtown, and this is a beginning which I’m very excited about.”

The developers will have the option to purchase Parcel C for $150,000 if they meet all the requirements of the agreement, such as submitting architectural drawings and providing a timeframe for development, and the borough and the NEDC find the proposal favorable.

The agreement requires the developers to give a $15,000 deposit to the borough for granting the exclusive rights. This deposit will be refunded if the developers are unable to move forward with their original plans. If they exercise their right to purchase the property the money can be used towards the purchase price.

Parcel C, which used to be the site of the United Rubber factories, has sat vacant since the 1980s.

Currently the only building on the lot is the Building 25, which used to house United Rubber’s offices. However, the borough plans to tear the building down later this year.

In 2007 Alexius Conroy tried to develop Parcel C as part of the Renaissance Place development. The plans did not come to fruition and the borough severed ties with Conroy in 2012. This is the first proposal the board has entered into since then.

Paul Singley contributed to this article.