The corner lot of the former Nestle site designated to Aldi, currently cleared and fenced off from the remainder of the site.
FULTON, NY – Fulton Mayor Ronald Woodward Sr. recently revealed the tentative date to close on the sale contract between the city of Fulton and international supermarket chain, Aldi.
Aldi has adamantly expressed interest in purchasing the 2.2-acre corner lot of the former Nestle site bordering South Fourth and Fay streets.
Despite a long running demolition process of the 24-acre site plagued with several interruptions, an anticipated close on the purchase is tentatively scheduled for July 5.
Initial demolition contractor, Infinity Enterprises backed out of the commitment to demolish the site in its entirety after offering to complete the project at no cost to the city but for all rights to salvageable material on site, citing financial losses due to a $10,000 weekly payroll as the main reason for abandoning the demolition process.
Local contractor, Rowlee Construction was then awarded the bid to remove the remaining debris from the 2.2-acre parcel designated to Aldi.
At a daily pay rate of $4,627 with additional rates for trucking, city officials capped the expenditure of Rowlee’s work at $100,000 requiring additional approval to expend any more money.
After just over one week of work, the city’s common council authorized the expenditure of an additional $100,000 to complete the debris removal at the Aldi site of which the city funded through a previously approved bond resolution of $700,000 for the demolition of city owned properties.
Now, the Aldi parcel is cleared of all debris and has been declared clean by the Department of Labor with the perimeter of the Aldi blueprint fenced off from the remainder of the 24-acre site.
After the sale has been closed tentative for July 5, Aldi representatives have said their contractor can be on site by July 10 to begin prepping the site to construct the new store.
Initially, a contract between the city of Fulton and Aldi sold the 2.2-acre parcel for $450,000 with the promise of a build ready site.
However, the final contract will reflect a sale price of $350,000 after discovering that Aldi will need to purchase pilings, a loss off the sale price that is equitable to the amount needed for the purchase of pilings.
Additionally, as the site is not being delivered in build ready condition, the city will pay Aldi’s contractor National Contracting $262,000 out of the sale price to prep the site, bring it to grade, and ensure it is build ready, Mayor Woodward said.
Following the closing date, city officials will have 90 days to remove Building 2 of the former Nestles factory that lines State Route 481as per the contract with Aldi.
As of now, Mayor Woodward said the details are still being worked out as to how the city will be moving forward with the remaining demolition of Building 2 and three other structures that remain standing on the site.
The common council recently approved a bond resolution for $3.5 million for demolition of city owned properties of which the majority of those funds will be used at the former Nestle site.
However, included in those funds is the removal of Sharps Pond Dam after the Department of Environmental Conservation required the city to take action on the structure by the end of the year of which the project’s engineer alone will cost $100,000, Mayor Woodward said.
Next week, the common council will address a resolution to declare the Nestle site, with the exception of the Aldi parcel, an unsafe area and an imminent danger.
Mayor Woodward said this declaration stems from structural issues of the remaining buildings, especially Building 2, and remaining asbestos.
“That will make things move along quicker for us,” Mayor Woodward explained. “(Aldi’s) contractor can work on their site but nobody else can go on the rest of that site.”
Following recommendations from an insurance company and opinions from lawyers, the city will consider declaring the site a danger to ensure that no one is injured by being on the site in a building that is not structurally sound or in the chance that State Route 481 becomes impacted by the building.
The site does not pose a danger to living conditions for neighbors in the area as all dangerous conditions are specific to what is on the site, Woodward expressed.
Continue reading Oswego County Today for updated information regarding the tentative closing with Aldi and the outcome of the resolution to declare the remainder of the site unsafe next week.
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Now this is a Date that I can believe. Yea….Finally….Thank you Mayor.
$262,000 plus$ 200,000 to infinity to fill a 2.2 acre lot . That’s almost a half million dollars to fill a dirt lot.
Did anybody separately bid the cost of wood pilings being placed underneath this building? The City goes to the closing and pays Aldi a check something wrong here.
Finally I question if anybody has checked on the condition of the deeper soil and whether there is a toxic plume running under the whole site, which would bankrupt the city if there is one!