Old federal courthouse to become city’s new court
MIDDLETOWN – The former federal courthouse that is to be redeveloped for Middletown City Court has been given the environmental green light to move forward.
The project was stalled for months when it was learned that an old oil tank might still be buried beneath the building. That issue has been cleared up, said Mayor Joseph DeStefano.
“The tank had already been removed,” DeStefano said. “It’s just that it was removed so many years ago before regulations apparently, but the paperwork filed with the state indicated there was a tank there so we had to prove that it wasn’t there and if it wasn’t there, that the soil wasn’t contaminated. The independent engineer did that and now we are ready to move.”
The City of Middletown plans to buy the building and remodel it to accommodate
the local court facilities. It will be able to do that with a $2.7 million
grant secured last year secured by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther.
