NORWICH – The City of Norwich has taken the first step towards identifying underutilized sites on the east side of the city and determining their potential for future use.

The city held a public meeting Monday as the first of a three-part planning study funded through the Brownfield Opportunity Areas Grant Program, provided by New York State. The goal of the project is to determine a plan for revitalization and a way to implement the plan in underutilized, abandoned or polluted sites.

Scott LaMountain, a representative from Shelter Planning in Queensbury, presented a powerpoint presentation showing areas that had been identified and could be included in the program.

LaMountain pointed out areas of consideration, including the Borden Avenue site, which has a large chunk of underutilized land; the Chenango County Department of Public Works site; the Lee Avenue site, which has seen several rounds of contamination investigation by the Department of Environmental Conservation; the Mitchell Street site; the State Street site, where the Norwich Shoe Company was previously located; the East Main Street School, which is an older unoccupied building; the NYSEG site located near the tops plaza, which is currently undergoing remediation by the DEC; and the Hosbach site.

City Code Enforcement Officer Jason Lawrence asked that the Unguentine Building and a property on the corner of Prentice Street and O’Hara Drive be added to the list.

LaMountain then asked those in attendance what they would like to see happen to some of the properties in the long run.