LISBON

A piece of history with all its white concrete walls and steel is coming down piece by piece in Lisbon Falls and will soon be a memory that exists only in photographs.

If you haven’t driven by the Worumbo Mill at the corner of Canal Street and Route 196 recently, heavy-duty equipment has been clawing away at the 1920 structure as part of the demolition underway by Almighty Waste of Auburn. The Lisbon Planning Board in April approved demolition of the building, stipulating it be done by Dec. 31.

Project spokesman, Ray Boshold, said everything has been moving very smoothly. The demolition did hit a snag after someone complained about dust, leading to some single lane closures on Canal Street. The building was to be down by the end of this month, he said, but the work could leak into August.

The concrete is being pulverized and used to fill the footprint of the building. Tim Miller, representing Miller Industries, told the planning board in April that once the building is down and after the site settles, they will gravel, loam, seed and possibly plant shrubbery unless the property sells right away. The property will have to be fenced off once the work is done for liability purposes.

Boshold said Wednesday the ideal plan is to sell the property, whether to a developer or the town. At this point, owner Jo Miller has no plans to develop the property, he said.

“I would think it would be a very valuable piece of property for somebody that wants to develop it and to have the other redbrick building on the other side,” he said.

The two-story brick building is on a small island with a bridge connecting it to Canal Street and has a fairly substantial parking lot, Boshold said, so it would be wonderful if someone has the foresight to renovate it.

Miller has previously tried to sell the Worumbo Mill along with the redbrick building, listing it with a commercial Realtor. While there were some people who expressed interest before the demolition was scheduled, Boshold said none were moving quickly enough.

It is a piece of history and many people worked and made a living at the Worumbo Mill, he said. But over the years after it was closed, it became in a state of disrepair. The primary reason for taking the building down was the liability issue. People would break into the building, break windows and the owner never knew if a piece of concrete would come down. It was an eyesore and unfortunately, Boshold said, there was no movement on the part of the town to purchase the property when it was offered for $100,000.

In response to the offer, the town floated a $1 million bond in November of 2013 to fund acquisition and possible demolition or renovation of the property, which was overwhelmingly rejected by Lisbon voters.

Boshold called the property a prime piece of real estate in the dead center of town with water access upriver.

“It’s a terrific location and I think could be developed by someone with the foresight and financial backings to do that,” he said. “I hope there are a lot of potential buyers. It’s going to open up that space.”

Positive Change Lisbon

Fern Larochelle of Positive Change Lisbon again expressed gratitude that Jo Miller is paying to have the building taken down.

“New is good,” he said. “We’re excited to actually see what happens next and hopefully whoever comes in next will be able to embrace the river and waterfront that we have. It’s our hope that whoever goes in there next will allow the town to enjoy the riverfront and enjoy the resources we have.”

The mill has been called everything from the white elephant to the ugly mill, he said, but never beautiful. But it has meant a lot to many people, providing livelihoods and opportunity once upon a time. Soon, when motorists on Route 196 enter Lisbon and crest the hill, they won’t see an old abandoned mill, but instead will see new opportunity, Larochelle said. Positive Change Lisbon has talked about having a recreation area on the site, for example.

“Hopefully, it is going to open some doors for possibilities for the future,” he said. “And whether it becomes a recreation area, whatever happens is good for the town.”

dmoore@timesrecord.com