The town has approved a tax abatement for Greylock Property Group, LLC, the developer of the Indian River Landing project, after the discovery of some previously unknown environmental concerns. The agreement is anticipated to keep the proposal for the old Morgan School property on track for formal applications to come in this fall.

First Selectman Christine Goupil shed some light on the issue at the June 17 Board of Finance meeting. Goupil said that due to the construction on the property over several decades, there was a plot of land that was untested. When Greylock personnel investigated the untested area, they discovered asbestos below the ground.

Goupil said that the developers and town have agreed on an abatement plan for the property. The town will cover half the cost and the developer will pay the other half. The current estimate for the abatement project is $400,000. As part of the agreement, the town will forgo $200,000 in anticipated tax revenue from the project.

“It’s similar to if you want to buy a house and then get the home inspected and then you discover a leak,” Goupil said.

Goupil also said that per state statute, the abatement applies only to the environmental concerns and not the hotel or land value. This means that the town can collect full taxes on those portions of the property. A motion approving the abatement was unanimously approved at a Board of Selectmen meeting on June 19.

Goupil said next steps for the developer include getting land use approvals, then they will close on the property. “After closing, demolition of the building will happen, then construction of the project,” Goupil said. “The reduction in the tax assessment kicks in after the developer gets a Certificate of Occupancy for the retail component of the project.”

The agreement specifies that Greylock will have an exact cost of the remediation within 30 days of demolition, and that the town will not be responsible for more than $200,000.

When the Indian River Landing project was announced in November 2018, it was described as a mixed-use development including retail, restaurants, a large-scale grocery or retail store, residential units including town homes, and, potentially, a hotel. Matthew Williams, the project architect, said early this month that as of now the plan still includes a hotel, but that the residential town homes might not be included.

Clinton residents unanimously voted to approve the $2.2 million sale of the old Morgan School property to developer Greylock Property Group in December 2018. The sale was announced more than a year after the original plans to develop the site of the old Morgan School were terminated by the original developer after issues with financing and difficulty getting approval for a waste water permit from the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. It is expected that the first formal application for work on the property will make its way before one of the various boards and commissions in town by fall 2019.