Remediating 2 sites in downtown Medina would cost $177K

Photo by Tom Rivers – The former Starlite Dry Cleaners has been vacant on Main Street in Medina since a fire damaged the building a decade ago. Environmental concerns have a holdup in the site’s redevelopment.

MEDINA – An environmental audit of two vacant side-by-side sites on Main Street puts the costs of a cleanup at $177,000.

The former Starlite Dry Cleaners at 331 North Main St. has been empty since a fire in the building a decade ago. Its neighbor at 333 North Main also is vacant.

Great Lakes Environmental in Buffalo said remediating the sites, with a partial takedown, would cost $177,000.

Addressing the environmental issues is critical for the two sites to be contributing locations to Medina’s Main Street and community, said Mayor Andrew Meier.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation pledged $50,000 to $60,000 to the cleanup in 2008. The village is trying to make sure that funding is still committed for the cleanup. Medina could also pursue state funding through the Consolidated Funding Application. Meier expects the state would welcome the project because the two buildings are in a historic business district by the Erie Canal.

“It’s a very important project in that neighborhood,” he said. “It’s precluding other projects from happening.”

A previous study showed some dry-cleaning solvents were in the soil at Starlite. The site has been in limbo for years. A previous owner stopped paying taxes on the site. Normally the property would then be owned by Orleans County, but the county hasn’t accepted the property due to the potential environmental liabilities.