Last modified: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 12:04 AM EDT A city DPW worker demolishes 8 Wall St. on Oct. 13 to make way for Attleboro's revitalization project. (Staff photo by MIKE GEORGE) Change happens slowly in city project BY GEORGE W. RHODES SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - The first visible signs of the massive downtown revitalization project in the works for almost eight years took place two weeks ago with the demolition of a 1,000 square foot building at 8 Wall St. But bulldozers and other heavy equipment won't be making another appearance for at least a year, when it's hoped The Old Barn, a pet supply business located in a warehouse built in 1928, and Automatic Machine Co., a manufacturer located in buildings built in 1926 and 1944, will be ready to be taken down, said Michael Milanoski, executive director of the Attleboro Redevelopment Authority. Until then, most of the work on the project will take place in the offices of Milanoski, the mayor, city councilors, GATRA officials and a raft of state and federal transportation, environmental and government officials like U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, who got the effort underway in 1999 by winning a federal grant of $500,000 for a new MBTA parking garage. That amount was added to over the years, and now stands at about $10 million, including state matching funds. While the original idea was to build a parking garage for rail commuters, city officials were able to reconfigure the plan into a comprehensive urban renewal project, including condominiums and commercial sites designed using "smart growth" principles, which aim to locate homes and businesses close to mass transit facilities. Current plans now call for a comprehensive, multi-phase, $60 million downtown revitalization project. So far, only Phase 1A has been authorized. Phase 1A includes acquisition of property on a 32-acre swath of land downtown between Ten Mile River and the railroad and the relocation of businesses that occupy buildings to be acquired. The goal is to acquire all 32 acres needed for Phase 1A by the end of this year, Milanoski said. To that end, the ARA expects to complete the purchase of the Automatic Machine Co. property on the south side of Wall Street this month or next month. Officials hope to close on the Automatic property on the north side of Wall in December, along with property on Olive Street owned by three other businesses. While officials believe the purchase of Automatic will be amicable, Milanoski said purchases from Reynolds and Markman Inc., Johnson Fabrication and Mantrose Haeuser Inc. may have to be done by eminent domain. "But that's an option of last resort," he said. Meanwhile, Milanoski said, the aim is to move the Old Barn and Automatic Machine Co. businesses by the end of next year. A site has yet to be found for the Old Barn business. Automatic Machine is planning to move to the new industrial business park now under construction off County Street. The transfer of the public works yard to the 11-acre site of the former Apco-Mossberg Co. on Lamb Street is also slated for the end of next year. The city council has already approved transfer of the six-acre DPW property to the ARA for $1. ARA project manager Ron Dubuc has compiled a report on the current facility that will help in the design of the new one. Once the properties are owned by the ARA, full-scale environmental testing will begin and plans for remediation will be developed, Milanoski said. Other invisible jobs underway include the assembling of funds needed for the work. Just this week the city got permission from bond lawyers to borrow $2.5 million for its share of the $14.7 million Phase 1A cost. And last week, Milanoski and Mayor Kevin Dumas met with officials from the state's Executive office of Transportation to negotiate the release of a $1.4 million grant crucial for acquisition costs. Milanoski said the meeting went well. "EOT is very committed to the project," Milanoski said. While most of the work during the next year will be invisible some things will be seen. A new entrance to the MBTA parking lot through the now vacant 8 Wall property is expected to be "up and running" by the end of the year. Renovations to the south Main Street MBTA entrance are slated for spring or sooner. "If we can accelerate that we will," Milanoski said. GEORGE W. RHODES can be reached at 508-236-0432 or at grhodes@thesunchronicle.com.