Bristol Industrial Park is closing down — all businesses must leave

After one building was forced closed a month ago, the entire complex is closing due to financial troubles

By Christy Nadalin
Posted 1/25/19

Though tenants have not yet been notified in writing, they have been told that the Bristol Industrial Park at 500 Wood St. will be ceasing operations within the next 90 days.

It’s the end …

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Bristol Industrial Park is closing down — all businesses must leave

After one building was forced closed a month ago, the entire complex is closing due to financial troubles

Posted

Though tenants have not yet been notified in writing, they have been told that the Bristol Industrial Park at 500 Wood St. will be ceasing operations within the next 90 days.

It’s the end result of a process that began when the state fire marshall notified the Mosaico BCDC (the division of Mosaico Community Development Corporation that was established in 2010 to manage the Industrial Park) that they had until Dec. 31 to update the fire suppression system in Building Group 1, or close their doors.

In a letter dated Nov. 1, Mosaico president Merritt Meyer outlined the hurdles facing the non-profit group as they sought to obtain funding.

Despite attempts to access grants, chiefly a state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that has long been a key source of support, loans, and every possible revenue stream to raise the approximately $300,000 needed to do the work, they failed. The final hail-mary pass was made at the Dec. 19 meeting of the Bristol Town Council. According to those minutes, Mr. Meyer appealed to the council to provide Mosaico BCDC a loan to complete the work.

Director of Community Development Williamson explained that the property was in receivership in 2005 and that the town hoped that a new developer would become involved with the property at that time. She noted that there were a great deal of deferred maintenance problems with the property.

Ms. Williamson also explained that the town wanted to keep the buildings available for manufacturing and incubator business space and Mosaico was an attractive partner since the buildings are in their neighborhood and that they were key to a successful storefront rehabilitation program.

Council Chairman Nathan Calouro asked to know why this year’s application for a CDBG was denied, and Mr. Meyer responded that the state was concerned about Mosaico’s long-term debt and their ability to pay, explaining that they owe $2.4 million to the previous owners and there is an existing note to the town, including interest, at $256,000.

Mr. Calouro noted that Mosaico BCDC’s existing loan has been in default since 2015 and that Mosaico’s business plan did not include this loan. The council ultimately decided another loan to Mosaico BCDC could not be justified to taxpayers.

When Building Group I closed Dec. 31, nine tenants were displaced. One of them moved into Building Group 2 and two more are in the process of moving. The loss of six tenants has placed intense pressure on the operating income brought in by Mosaico BCDC, and the problems snowballed from there.

“The income generated is insufficient to continue operations beyond 30 to 90 days,” said Mr. Meyer. “It is hard to say if it’s a completely done deal” at the moment, he added, noting that if someone with deep pockets were to come along, they would be able to work things out. “But at this point we don’t see any other option.”

Mr. Meyer also noted that the closure likely spells the end of Mosaico BCDC, but that Mosaico CDC is a separate organization with its own income stream, and will continue to carry on indefinitely.

Mr. Meyer is in the process of submitting input from other members of the board and expects to send written notice of the impending closure to tenants in the next few days.

Reached for comment, one longtime tenant who did not want to be identified said they had “no idea what we are going to do.”

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