Two of the most polluted properties on the Rochester riverfront are back in the hands of the oil giant that contributed to their contamination decades ago.
ExxonMobil is the new owner of a pair of languishing properties at 5 and 15 Flint St. in the Plymouth-Exchange Neighborhood. One of the parcels is home to a hulking and decaying warehouse once owned by Vacuum Oil, a refinery that was later absorbed by ExxonMobil.
ExxonMobil paid $280,000 for 5 Flint Street and $995,000 for the adjacent 15 Flint Street property, according to property records on file at the Monroe County Clerk’s Office. The transaction was recorded on Aug. 31.
“ExxonMobil takes its environmental responsibilities seriously,” company spokesperson Lauren Kight said in an email responding to questions about the company’s plan for the land. “We're working to progress cleanup of the site. We're also actively identifying parties who can develop the site and return it to beneficial use for the community.”
The properties are part of the former Vacuum Oil complex that shut down in 1935. But the 40-acre site was left heavily contaminated with petroleum and other chemicals from a series of explosions, spills, and other incidents.
In 2008, the properties were bought by DHD Ventures. The local development firm, led by Tom Masaschi, had expressed interest in cleaning up and redeveloping the parcels, but the project languished. Last March, a judge ordered DHD to sell the properties as part of a mortgage foreclosure case.
In June, the city filed a lawsuit to take 5 Flint St. through eminent domain. Officials said the city needed control of the property to carry out a planned replacement of the adjacent Genesee River wall. The site would have required extensive cleanup work ahead of the work.
Dana Miller, commissioner of the city’s Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, said Thursday he was unaware of the sale of the properties to ExxonMobil. The transaction will likely end the city’s eminent domain proceeding.
“Typically, the eminent domain process is driven by the fact that there are unpaid taxes or unpaid debts, which is what would allow us to do that,” Miller said. “Given that they're coming in and taking over the property, they would be responsible for paying all of those back amounts, which would then eliminate the need for the eminent domain.”
A state court had previously ruled that ExxonMobil had an obligation to pay for at least part of the cleanup of the Flint Street parcels.
“As the owners, now they will be responsible for the full cleanup of the property,” Miller said. “And, you know, it seems to me like that might make things a little bit easier going forward.”
Brian Sharp contributed reporting for this story.
