Positive signs on Bridge Street

Good things are happening on South Bridge Street in Portland.
After years of standing empty, a part of the former Sheller-Globe plant is being re-born as the new home of TLS By Design, a custom furniture manufacturer.
Crews were busy cleaning out the north building of the plant complex this week. Over the years, the building has been vandalized and occupied by the homeless.
But all that is beginning to change.
Working with the city of Portland, the county, and Jay County Development Corporation, TLS was able to petition a U.S. bankruptcy court to split off the piece of the Sheller-Globe site it wanted and buy it.
That move ended a stalemate that had seen the property go up for tax sale with no bidders.
It accomplishes three things at once:
•About $33,000 of the purchase price goes toward back taxes on the property.
•The site now goes back on the tax rolls, which is good news for all other property taxpayers in the county.
•And a budding industry that has successfully targeted the institutional furniture market has a new home where it can continue to grow.
The balance of the Sheller-Globe site still poses a challenge.
There may be some environmental issues dating back to the years when steering wheels and other plastic parts were made there, but it’s possible those could be mitigated if the land isn’t disturbed.
If that hurdle can be cleared, much of the south building at the plant site appears to be in fair shape and could be put back into use by industry.
Old industrial properties along long-gone rail corridors can pose daunting problems, so if this one can be solved there will be real reason to celebrate. — J.R.

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