News

Planning board backs JSL building plan

By Patrick Adrian
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — A local couple received the city’s full approval to purchase the long vacant Junior Sports League (JSL) building to renovate and repurpose into a manufacturing facility.

The Claremont Planning Board unanimously voted on Monday to approve a site plan from Claremont business owners Jeff and Sarah Barrett, who wish to relocate their business operations to the former JSL building on 45 School St., a former armory and later recreational facility located in a downtown residential neighborhood.

The Barretts, who own the Ink Factory, a screen printing and lettering company, and Awesome Sauce, which makes VegetaBalls Pesto, say their operations have outgrown their current facility at 13 Water St. When the Barretts purchased 13 Water St. in August 2016 their only business had been the Ink Factory, which made custom apparel and signs. Since then the Barretts incorporated a vehicle lettering business and pesto-making into their operations.

“It’s tough because we never envisioned [our current building] was going to limit us the way that it does now,” said Jeff Barrett to the planning board. “But it is such a narrow building for the equipment that we have and makes it tough to move things around in an efficient way.”

In contrast the 45 School St. building comprises 117,000 square feet and a spacious gymnasium, which will enable the Barretts to consolidate all their business operations, including a garage for vehicles, in one location.

The Barretts are prepared to invest approximately $400,000 to rehabilitate the building. Their renovations will include rebuilding the external entry for American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, overhauling the electrical and heating systems, lighting upgrades and restoring the outside parking area, which can accommodate eight to 10 vehicles.

Planning Board members praised the Barretts for wanting to take the JSL building off the city tax roll and put it back to use.

“Thank you for making this building useful again for the city of Claremont,” board member David Putnam told Barrett. “It’s been sitting there languishing for quite a while.”

The JSL building was constructed in 1950 as a National Guard Armory and last housed a volunteer-run youth roller skating rink before the city shut the building down in 2014 due to numerous building code violations.

In 2018, the Sullivan County Department of Corrections had expressed interest in purchasing 45 School St. to house inmates from their Transitional Reentry and Inmate Life Skills (TRAILS) program, which aimed to provide a temporary, sober-free residence to inmates returning to the community. However, the county decided instead to acquire the former Eagle Times building on 19 Sullivan St., after feedback from Claremont residents that the neighborhood surrounding 45 School St., was an unsuitable location for a sobriety-house.

The JSL building was recently reassessed at a value of $311,000, which would amount to an annual property tax of $12,700.

On Monday, Nov. 2, the Claremont Zoning Board approved a variance to allow 45 School St., to conduct manufacturing in a residential zone.

With the approval from Claremont’s planning and zoning officials, the Barretts may now proceed to close the building’s sale with the city.

At a city council meeting on Friday, Oct. 16, Barrett said he wanted to close the sale as soon as possible so he could begin working on the heating and efficiency items prior to the winter season.

Barrett also told the planning board that he will not be seeking a 79-E tax exemption or tax credits for the new property. Barrett had already received a 79-E tax exemption from the city for 13 Water St., a state-created tax incentive that allows the owner to continue paying taxes on the property’s pre-renovation value for a five- to 11-year period.

“We’re just happy to get the building back off the tax roll,” Barrett said.”We think it is going to be a good deal for everybody involved.”

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