Laurel City Revamp: Back taxes paid, foreclosure dropped

WINSTED —  The town has ended its foreclosure case against the nonprofit Laurel City Revamp.

The organization is lead by former Selectman Michael Renzullo.

Back in 2010 Renzullo formed Laurel City Revamp for the purpose of rehabilitating distressed and underused properties.

Through the organization, Renzullo owns the old Capitol Products building at 35 Willow St.

The building had been vacant for many years since the company went out of business.

The organization purchased the building in July 2011, via a quitclaim deed, for $1.

The town originally filed foreclosure proceedings against Renzullo for taxes owed in April 2015 at Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse.

According to the state’s court database, the town dropped its foreclosure case against Renzullo on June 27.

On the same date, Renzullo’s attorney and father, Patsy Renzullo, dropped his counterclaim against the town.

Project history

After Michael Renzullo purchased the building, in December 2011 the previous Board of Selectmen approved a plan by Renzullo to purchase $89,000 in tax liens for $25,000, then in May 2012 the organization cleared all outstanding liens for the building.

In May 2012 the organization cleared all outstanding liens for the building and in May 2013 Renzullo announced that a bakery would open in the building, but the business never opened.

In January 2015 Patsy Renzullo sent a letter to previous Town Manager Dale Martin pleading for a two-year extension of owed property taxes, $25,000 due to the town and a deferment of all property taxes until the completion of construction of the property.

In response, Town Attorney Kevin Nelligan wrote to the elder Renzullo that the town would proceed with foreclosure.

Patsy Renzullo responded to the foreclosure case by filing a counterclaim for $2 million in damages.

In January 2016, current Town Manager Robert Geiger said that Michael Renzullo would be given another chance to pay back taxes and avoid foreclosure on the building.

At that time, Geiger said that Michael Renzullo would have to submit a payment plan, but that the existing approved terms between Michael Renzullo and the town would not change.

In May 2016, Geiger said Michael Renzullo came back to the town with a different proposal for the property.

At various times throughout 2016 and this year, the Board of Selectmen has met in executive sessions to discuss the case as it continued in court.

Case resolution

According to Town Manager Geiger, as part of the town dropping the foreclosure lawsuit Laurel City Revamp has paid all back taxes that it owed to the town on the property.

“There has been no new agreement or contract between the town and Laurel City Revamp,” Geiger said. “All the organization did was agree with getting back on track with the original contract with the town.”

Back in November, according to the tax collectors online database, Renzullo owed a total of $20,753.22 to the town.

“[Renzullo] has indicated that they will complete the project,” Geiger said. “But it’s up to them to have the project back on track.”

Geiger added that the organization also paid the town the principal payment of $25,000 on the property, which was due back in February 2015.

In an email to the Winsted Journal, Mayor Candy Perez added that “the court was satisfied and all lawsuits were withdrawn.”

Future plans

Laurel City Revamp board member Ric Nalette said that the organization plans to move forward with work on the building.

“We finally got all of the hurdles on the way so we’re moving forward,” Nalette said.

Nalette said that, as the first part of its construction project, the organization plans on demolishing the oldest section of the building.

“It has been determined by the state’s Historical Society that there is no historical value to that section of the building,” Nalette said. “They are going to pull down that part of the building floor by floor and try to reclaim all of the salvageable materials, including bricks and wooden floorboards. As much of it will be reused and repurposed in the redevelopment of the main part of the building while some of it will be sold.”

Nalette said that the main section of the building will be renovated.

He did not say if the organization will follow its original plans for offices and stores in the building itself.

Michael Renzullo did not return calls for comment for this story.

The three-story building was built in 1946 and is approximately 27,894 square feet.