Spread of mold worries officials

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Spread of mold worries officials

July 30, 2008

Rutland Herald - Rutland,VT*

By Brent Curtis Herald Staff

City officials are worried that a fungal outbreak at the Eastman's

building in downtown Rutland could be a health hazard, but the owner

of the building said Tuesday he's having the building cleaned and

may sell it soon.

The 15,000-square-foot building at 66 to 68 Merchants Row has been

empty since 2005. The former stationery and arts-and-crafts business

that operated at the location for 50 years relocated to North Main

Street.

With no tenant in the building, flood water in the basement, most

likely caused by heavy rains in June, has created a crop of mold

that covers the carpeted basement floor and climbs more than 3 feet

up the walls.

The fungus and mold would have had weeks to develop and bloom before

Downtown Rutland Partnership executive director Coppinger

found it last week while touring the building with a pair of

prospective tenants.

Coppinger said the unsanitary state of the downstairs didn't

dissuade his visitors' interest in the space.

" The party is actually interested in possibly buying the building

and cleaning it themselves, " he said.

But the obvious neglect and lack of oversight raised red flags for

Coppinger and other city officials who called in state health

officials to look at the building on July 24.

" Our concern is, 'Will the mold spread into other buildings and is

it a public health risk?' " city building inspector Simonds

said, echoing concerns raised by Coppinger and Mayor

Louras on Tuesday.

The answer Tuesday from the state Department of Health was, 'No.' "

" Because the building is vacant, it doesn't pose a public health

hazard at this time, " kson, Health Department spokeswoman,

said.

Moreover, the building's principal owner said he is paying to have

the mold and mildew cleaned out.

Salim Gorur, who identified himself as the principal owner of

Merchants Row LLC — the company that owns the Eastman's building —

said during a telephone interview Tuesday he has ordered the

property management company overseeing the building to remove the

mold. Gorur lives in New York City.

" There is no health hazard there, " he said. " I was there two days

ago and there's nothing to worry about. It will be cleaned up. "

Gorur said he also told the management company to replace a broken

display window that has been covered up with plywood for months.

City officials said Tuesday they have more than one letter asking

the property's owners to fix the window.

While the building's owners are current on all their tax and utility

bills to the city, Coppinger made it clear that he wasn't satisfied

with the condition of the building, which represents the single

largest vacant retail space on Merchants Row.

" Our hope is to put pressure and weight on the building's owner to

either clean up the property because we have a major health problem

on our hands or to look into condemning the building, " Coppinger

said.

He said the prospective tenants who looked at the building last week

expressed interest in purchasing it for $150,000 — the same amount

that Merchants Row LLC bought the building for in February 2007.

Gorur said they aren't the only ones interested in the building.

On Saturday, Gorur said he placed a " for sale " sign in the

building's big display window. By Tuesday, he said, he had three

people interested in the site and he said he was mulling over the

possibility of a joint venture, direct sale or lease with one of the

parties.

Contact Brent Curtis at brent.curtis@....