Developers pitch 630 Riverside but court and contamination hold project while survey and outreach are prepared

Developer Robert updated the commission on 630 Riverside, saying the project is stalled in court and that recent appraisals reflect contamination that must be addressed before meaningful progress can continue.

Robert said he has secured a brownfield grant but that remediation and site remediation planning remain constrained by both the court timeline and administrative barriers. He described recruiting local contractors and taking on smaller nearby projects while waiting for the title and cleanup steps the project requires. "I literally refresh it multiple times a day to see if I have a court date," he said.

Town staff and Todd outlined next steps for community engagement: a public survey on tenant preferences is live on SurveyMonkey, and a Neighborhood Limited Enterprise public workshop is scheduled for July 1 (6–8 p.m.) with Eventbrite registration capped at 60. Staff asked commissioners and commission-aligned secretaries to share the workshop link and survey to recruit a broader and more diverse attendee pool; current registration stood at 11, with a target of 24–30 to achieve meaningful discussion.

Commissioners agreed the public outreach should be measured — staff advised holding off heavy publicity until title is taken to avoid creating false expectations. When the project moves to active construction, the commission discussed a planned groundbreaking and coordinated promotion to draw attention to new commercial tenants.

No formal action was taken; staff requested continued public sharing of the survey and promised updates on legal and funding milestones at the next meeting.