North Attleboro residents concerned about building in danger of collapsing

NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. (WLNE) — A 126-year-old abandoned mill is raising concern in North Attleboro.

The town shut down a portion of Broadway on Wednesday after an inspection determined a strong gust of wind could bring the building down any day.

The Webster Mill has been the subject of community concern for decades now, with the long-vacant building dealing with roof issues, decay and more.

Wednesday afternoon, officials announced the closure of a small portion of Broadway between Bank Street and Richards Avenue for the foreseeable future.

“It’s been a long, drawn-out process involving attorneys and different conversations with what assets are available or not available, and what the property is actually worth,” said North Attleboro Town Manager Michael Borg.

“I think, at a point…public safety takes priority,” Borg added. “The town’s going to act if it has to, if they’re unwilling or unable to act.”

Public safety is the driving factor, and residents said the building has been a problem for long enough.

“You know, I was talking to my dad, who has been here since the late 80’s,” said Jared Garay-Pietrella, who lives nearby. “And this is how he remembers it too. So, it’s always been like this, it’s always been an issue.”

“We’ve read articles constantly about partial collapse…and it just being a huge danger,” Garay-Pietrella continued.

City officials said they are not sure if it is a matter of days or weeks until collapse, but community members are not willing to wait that long.

“I’ve been living in North Attleboro now for 18 years,” said Michael Perron, a North Attleboro resident. “I’ve owned my house behind here for 16 years, and this has been falling apart for years.”

“I’ve been worried. It’s only a matter of time,” Perron added. “Somebody’s going to die in here, especially a kid.”

City staff say after decades of delays, the process is finally moving forward.

Borg said community safety needs to come first.

“Absolutely, it drives the train on this one,” Borg said. “Concern for both property and individual family safety. We want to make sure that people are going to be able to use this road in the future without having to worry if a building is going to fall on them.”

The town has been in contact with the building’s owners, Webster Mill LLC.

They have until tomorrow to respond and correct the situation before the town takes action to demolish part of the building.