Bartow Commission Takes Step To Restore Historic Cigar Factory
BARTOW | Bartow city commissioners have taken a first step toward restoring the historic cigar factory on the east end of the city’s downtown historic district.
On Monday night, commissioners gave preliminary approval to designating the factory and the surrounding two acres a brownfield site.
A final vote is expected April 16.
Brownfield sites represent areas that have been contaminated or potentially could have contamination because the land was altered, either by mining or other impacts.
Years of neglect have left the 87-year-old cigar factory laden with pigeon droppings and animal debris, and the leaking roof has caused more environmental issues inside the building. Brownfield programs, including grants and low-interest loans, target those kinds of problems, said City Attorney Sean Parker.
“The factory also has lead-based paint and asbestos issues,” he said, “which makes it eligible for designation as a brownfield site, as well.”
The designation isn’t limited to the building, he said. The county operated a vehicle inspection station next to the factory on the two-acre site, which may have contaminated the ground beneath that building.
City Manager George Long has told commissioners the cigar factory site, at 235 N. Third Ave., is key to redevelopment in the area east of downtown Bartow. It anchors the Church Street residential historic district and serves as the northern point for the L.B. Brown Avenue historic district.
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