Demolition work which began July 1 to demolish the 101-year-old Atlantic Wire Company building has nearly erased the former factory near the Branford town center. The 7.5 acre site along the Branford River, located at the corner of Meadow and Montowese Streets, will next turn into a busy construction site to raise MetroStar of Milford's new mixed-use complex, Atlantic Wharf.

On August 15, the iconic Atlantic Wire Company name, still standing out in white-painted lettering on a brick wall facing the Branford River, was among all that was left of the sprawling, 200,000 square-foot former factory space. Zip06/The Sound has reached out to MetroStar for a demolition work progress update and construction start window, and will update this story when a reply is received.

As approved by the town in 2016, MetroStar will bring in 205 one- and two-bedroom apartments; spread among ten three-story buildings on the property.  Atlantic Wharf will also include restaurant and commercial spaces. MetroStar is already promoting 2019 availability for newly-built Atlantic Wharf apartments at its website here

The former Atlantic Wire factory ceased operations in 2008. The property was later purchased by One Church Street LLC of Branford, then sold to MetroStar. As previously reported by Zip06/The Sound, remediation of the site began in 2014 to clean the area of contamination (see the story here ).

Founded in 1906, Atlantic Wire milled rolled steel rods into wire and used sulfuric acid to clean the rods of iron oxide (rust). The resulting crystalized iron sulfate was reclaimed in a cooling tower. Prior to the 1970's-era Clean Water Act (CWA), factories besides waterways, such at Atlantic Wire on the Branford River, would routinely use the water to dump waste products.  After the CWA, factories were allowed to bury waste in holes in the ground or build a part of the factory to treat the waste and then take it away, as was the case at Atlantic Wire. The company also used lime (calcium oxide) or borax (sodium borate) to coat wire to give it certain properties. Solvents used to clean processed wire of materials such as burnt lubricant included a gasoline-based concoction with additives.

The 2014-15 remediation process took care of residual contaminants in the soil; with steps including digging and removing dirt, including a yard of dirt under floors once holding huge cleaning machines. A chemical cleaning process (injecting peroxide) was also used to clear some soil containing solvents in ground beneath the mill's many overspill floor wells.

In its early years, the factory was powered by an indoor locomotive steam engine, but for most of its life used an oil-fired boiler fed by an underground tank. Oil from the tank area leached downhill into soil beneath the mill's central "courtyard," where it gathered into a pool about 12 feet underground over decades of time. The oil clean-up was another major environmental undertaking achieved in 2015; when the tank was removed and a 20-foot hole was dug to remove the contaminated soil.

Taking advantage the property's current topography, the new Atlantic Wharf will also include a residential underground parking garage with 195 parking spaces below and 78 above (street level). The complex will also install a new road, with one end leading out to a new four-way intersection at Montowese Street and Pine Orchard Road.

Intended to draw millennials and others seeking high-end homes in a transit-oriented area, Atlantic Wharf's location puts it within walking distance of bus lines and the town center as well as the newly-expanded Amtrak rail station. The rail station is currently at the center of a Transit Oriented Development study being conducted by the Town of Branford.  The town is welcoming input from residents and other stakeholders in a survey available online through August 21. Take the survey here