Norwich council votes to demolish cliff house

Norwich - It likely will cost more to tear down the abandoned four-family house at 21 West Thames St. than to solicit a developer, but the City Council opted for demolition on the advice of Police Chief Louis Fusaro.

Fusaro sent a two-page memo to the council last week urging aldermen to demolish the blighted house that sits at the edge of a cliff overlooking West Thames Street-Route 32 across from the police station.

"The close proximity of this multi-unit house to a busy state highway makes access to and from the property extremely hazardous," Fusaro said in the letter.

Fusaro cited several reasons for recommending demolition. The house has no "safe" off-street parking, with only a one-car garage with poor sight lines to traffic, and no on-street parking. There is a stairway in the stone retaining wall, but there is no sidewalk at the bottom step.

"Someone stepping out from the last step is stepping directly into the traffic lane of Route 32," Fusaro wrote. " … Therefore, there is no safe way to access the property whether by foot or vehicle."

The City Council last year appointed the Board of Review of Dangerous Buildings as the committee to market the vacant four-family house to potential developers.

Committee member Sofee Noblick addressed the council last month and said the only developer interested in the property had asked the city to waive a $10,000 sewer connection fee - $2,500 per housing unit - that would be necessary to reopen the building.

Noblick said waiving the fee would cost less than the estimated $40,000 demolition cost. Demolition costs are relatively high because the house is perched at the edge of the road, with live utility wires nearby, Noblick said.

But aldermen Monday agreed with Fusaro and voted unanimously to authorize City Manager Alan Bergren to seek demolition bids for the structure.

c.bessette@theday.com