Town of Berlin Receives Two Proposals To Develop Depot Crossing

It was hoped that when the Town Council approved the town to enter into an agreement to buy the long-vacant and blighted Depot Crossing property at 884 Farmington Ave. that some developer would step forward to finish the building and make it a thriving parcel in the center of town. 

When the bids came due May 8, two developers had submitted proposals. 

CIL, the same company that developed Sherri Cup into Sherwood Falls was one of the developers who submitted a proposal. The other came from NMD Realty LLC, a group whose members include Michael C. Nelson and Marc D'Amore, both Berlin residents.

"We have the two proposals and we have a selection committee which includes me, Denise McNair, Hellyn Riggins, Ed Egazarian and Dave Cyr," said Economic Development Director for the town Jim Mahoney. "We will conduct interviews this Thursday night and hopefully have a selection by next Tuesday."

While Mahoney said he didn't want to go into the specifics of the proposals which were submitted but did say, "Both proposals came in with commercial on the first floor and residential on the second and third floors." 

Mayor Adam Salina said at the time of the purchase that the town did not want to own the property for long as it looks as if the plan may work out.

"We are trying to acquire a grant funding the purchase of a property that we feel is a blighted property and is in a very visible location," Salina said at the time. "We do not want to take ownership or operate this building but rather work with a developer to take ownership and sell this building and property to them. We hope this is a matter of months and not years. It will have no impact to the taxpayer as the money for the purchase will come completely from the grant. We are not going to hold onto this property for long at all."

For a timeline of the project, which began in 2007, go here.