Stonington — The town says it plans to knock down the remainder of the Campbell Grain Building and then place a $40,000 lien on the property so the owner can sell the two-acre site as part of the revitalization of downtown Pawcatuck.

Building owner Frank DeCiantis had begun the demolition in 2016 and was financing the work by selling the post and beams recycled from the building located at the end of Coggswell Street. But Director of Planning Jason Vincent said that after 80 percent of the building was taken down, DeCiantis found that the sale of the remaining wood would not cover the remainder of the demolition costs and the work ceased.

Town officials see the two-acre site along the Pawcatuck River as an integral piece of the effort to revitalize downtown Pawcatuck, an effort that has taken some significant steps forward over the past year.

Vincent said the town reached out to DeCiantis to see how it could assist him instead of just sitting back and imposing daily fines for blight. Vincent said DeCiantis is cooperating with the town’s plan, in which it cited him for a violation under the blight ordinance and now plans to tear down the remainder of the building at a cost of $40,000. It will then place a line on the property so when it is sold, the town will get its money back. Vincent said there is little risk to the town, as there is no debt on the property and the town is the first lien holder.

The town also has a $70,000 lien on the property for work it did to demolish a section of the building damaged in 2011 by Hurricane Irene.

Vincent said that next month the town will go to the Board of Finance and ask for an additional appropriation of $40,000 to tear down the building, which fire officials see as a hazard.

“We have a property owner who lives in Virginia, who is an older gentleman who does not have the capacity to finish the project. It is important to the neighborhood we finish it so we said, ‘What can we do?'” Vincent explained about the decision to work out a solution with DeCiantis.

“When people see blight, it sends a signal that something is wrong here,” Vincent added. “It erodes confidence and we need people to be confident so they invest in the community.”

Vincent said the town also may use the same tactic to deal with the blighted southern portion of the Thread Mill complex on Pawcatuck Avenue and has had discussions with its owners. The northern section has been turned into apartments. He said the town also is looking for a way to shore up the abandoned Connecticut Casting Mill on Stillman Avenue.

Vincent said the town also is looking to amend its zoning regulations to exempt properties in historic districts from having to make costly flood elevation requirements, and expanding the size of the Mechanic Street historic district in downtown Pawcatuck to include commercial properties on adjacent West Broad Street. The town already has made a significant change that allows owners to invest up to 50 percent of the property’s value in one year on improvements without triggering the flood improvements, as opposed to the previous five-year “look-back period,” which town officials say was a barrier to investment and revitalization.

j.wojtas@theday.com