The dust-up over the West Main parking lot at the Amtrak train station may have quite literally settled.
On October 12, Peter Castiglione, co-owner of Maya Restaurant on West Main Street, sent a letter to local developers Gabe Silverman and Allan Cadgene, owners of the unpaved and heavily rutted lot adjacent to the Amtrak station and across the street from Maya. The letter, co-signed by local business owners and residents, asked Silverman and Cadgene to respond within 10 days with “binding assurance” that the lot’s ongoing dust problem would be resolved, or face possible legal action. The developers e-mailed Castiglione’s lawyer, Ed Lowry, by the October 22 deadline.
Castiglione says the e-mail highlighted the owners’ previous efforts to address dust problems at the lot, currently on the market for $13.5 million. Cadgene and Silverman’s Union Station Partners, LLC bought the land that includes the parking lot, Wild Wing Café, the Amtrak station building and other parcels for $707,838 in 1997. Cadgene and Silverman purchased the former C&R Auto Service buildings on West Main Street for $1.8 million in September.
According to Castiglione, Silverman and Cadgene told Lowry that the lot had been salted before the Midtown Street Fair, held September 11 on West Main Street. Castiglione says the developers also told Lowry about a plan to put salt down on the unpaved lot every month.
“The job they did when they salted it kept the dust down for maybe three to four days,” says Castiglione, who has kept video and photographic evidence of the salt treatment. “If they are going to salt it as a way to take care of the dust, they need to do it every week. Otherwise, find something else.”
Castiglione adds that the lot owners said they will try a new product called Durasoil next week. According to the product’s website, Durasoil is an odorless, clear, environmentally safe polymer that can be sprayed onto the surface of the lot. The product is also used on aircraft runways, military tank trails and sports fields.
“So, if this works, and if they keep applying it at the appropriate time, our problem is solved for the short term. No dust, no problem,” says Castiglione. Multiple calls to Cadgene and Silverman were not returned by press time.
Although the unpaved lot is private property, the city has been in contact with Silverman and Cadgene for some time.
“To date, we have done all that we know that we can do to convince the owners of that property to pave over that lot,” says Ric Barrick, city spokesperson, in an e-mail. “They were suggesting paving it over with the addition of trees. That was passed. Then, they said they wanted a more environmentally friendly design, but have yet to resubmit a site plan.”
Meanwhile, the Durasoil may be a fix for a short-term problem. In an earlier interview, Silverman told C-VILLE that outside buyers are interested in purchasing the lot and developing it into a multi-story building.
