FRONT ROYAL- A three-phase redevelopment, plan for the former Avtex Fibers plant was revealed on Tuesday at the Farmers and Merchants National Bank on Main Street.

The plan was discussed during a meeting of the Industrial Redevelopment Committee, a branch of the Front Royal Warren County Industrial Development Authority.

FMC Corp. which owned the plant from 1963 to 1976, paid for the $50,000 study of the 440-acre site by Mazza Engineering Associates of Alquippa, Pa.

The rayon-manufacturing facility closed in 1989 after continued violations of environmental laws. The Environmental Protection Agency was subsequently called in to clean up the site under its Superfund program.

Gene Mazza, vice president of the engineering firm that works on industrial planning, engineering development, and community development, presented a slide presentation of the site during Tuesday's meeting and discussed the redevelopment plan.

Mazza said he thought the site could attract industry, particularly light manufacturing.

"You’re in the vicinity of Interstate 81, the Washington metropolitan area, and with the (Virginia) Inland Port (just north of Front Royal), it would make any industry accessible almost overnight to the eastern seaboard market and overseas."

Of the 35.77 acres of buildings on the site, Mazza said 28.5 acres could be rehabilitated.

He said that probably very few funds would be ,available for redevelopment; so the first phase concentrates on the northern end of the plant, where the least amount of money would be spent.

The buildings that housed the accounting and employment offices at Avtex are on this end, and they require very little renovation work.

Mazza said the water tower on the site leaks, and the best source for potable water is to use at least a 10-inch water line to hook to the 12-inch main, on Shenandoah Avenue. He said this is also necessary, for fire protection.

Phase I also calls for an upgrade of the power substation by Potomac Edison and tying into Front Royal's wastewater-treatment system.

The site has its own wastewater-treatment facility, but it is tied up with the Superfund cleanup and may not be available, for several years, Mazza, said.

Phase I Calls for 700,000 square feet of renovation at a cost of $2.75 per square foot.

The price also includes weatherizing buildings included in Phase II to prevent them from deteriorating, he said.

Phase II focuses on the south side of the site, where large buildings could be turned into assembly plants and the largest number of people could be hired, Mazza said.

In that area, 65,000 square feet, of buildings are so highly specialized -including the acid reclamation and cooling building that Mazza recommended they be demolished.

The phase also calls for the renovation 1359,000 square feet of buildings.

In "today’s dollars," the cost of demolition and renovation would be $2.25 per square foot, Mazza said.

Phase III calls for the renovation of 189,000 square feet (three buildings) and the demolition of 244,000 square feet (eight buildings), at a cost of $4.75 per square foot.

Mazza said that once rental money begins coming in after Phase I, it could be put in a revolving fund for use during the following phases.

"I'm sure no one wanted to invite a wet blanket to the meeting," said EPA representative Kathy Hodgkiss after Mazza's presentation. She discussed the time spent on Superfund cleanup and how that work must be cleared before redevelopment can begin.

Hodgkiss it usually takes the EPA three years on an average Superfund site to determine the problems and how they are going to deal with them and another eight or nine years: to complete the cleanup.

She added that the Avtex site is not an average site, and the time frame may be even longer.

Some sections, however, could be cleared before the entire project is completed.

The EPA may conclude that some areas of the site cannot be redeveloped, she said. She said the EPA usually works first on the areas where there are the most problems.

Realizing that the committee was interested in the areas where there are the fewest problems and redevelopment could take place sooner, Hodgkiss recommended that the committee send the EPA a list of its priorities so the agency can focus more time on those projects early in the process.