Kent seeks grant for Swift House

KENT — The town of Kent has applied for a grant of $1 million to renovate the Swift House after months of deliberation surrounding the historic structure.

The new plan for the building “brings the majority of the building back into use on a full-time basis,” said First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer.

The proposed layout includes a new location for the town food bank, which would be moved from its current location in the basement of the Kent Community House. The space would feature designated rooms for both cold and dry storage and an attached kitchenette. The remainder of the rear portion would consist of a large meeting space and adjoining porch, which Lindenmayer said could serve many purposes, from lectures and workshops to cocktail receptions.

The section of the building which faces Maple Street is the oldest section of the structure — a history of the building is available on the Swift House Task Force webpage — and will remain largely unchanged, reported Lindenmayer. This section will house new offices for Kent Social Services — “a more targeted space for Social Services programs,” said Lindenmayer — alongside an additional meeting space.

The funding being sought by the BOS is a reimbursement grant from the state’s Small Town Economic Assistance Program, commonly known as a STEAP grant. Lindenmayer said that if the $1 million were awarded, the town has enough money in its Capital Plan already allocated toward the Swift House project to cover the remainder of the approximately $1.47 million estimate.

At the Feb. 18 meeting, Lindenmayer expressed confidence in the town’s chances for the funding: “I think we have as good a shot as anybody,” he said. “We’re doing something a little different.”

Awards for this round of STEAP grants are anticipated to be announced on or near April 3.

Town seeking brownfield assessment

Another grant application under review at the Feb. 18 meeting was for an assessment of a brownfield property at 3 Segar Mountain Road. The grant, which has a maximum allowance of $200,000, would fund an inspection of the site to determine its safety and viability for future use.

Lindenmayer described the assessment process as the first step toward a suite of additional state funding which could “move [the] property towards functional benefit to the town.”

The lot spans just over 5 acres near the intersection of South Kent Road and Segar Mountain Road, containing two factory structures totaling 2,200 square feet. It is the former site of the Berkshire Transformer Corporation plant, which dumped contaminating solvents into the earth before it closed in the late 1990s. It is listed as a Superfund Site by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The property is currently up for sale, and Lindenmayer said there have been “two or three” interested parties.