MONTAGUE — Town officials have affirmed that the Strathmore mill complex’s Building 11 is beyond repair, having observed the extent of its deterioration at a site tour Monday morning.

A private party composed of Town Administrator Steve Ellis, Assistant Town Administrator Walter Ramsey and representatives from the Department of Public Works, Turners Falls Fire Department, Building Department and Historical Commission toured the structure. The intent “was just to get everybody’s eyes on that building and the condition of it,” Ramsey summarized to the Selectboard that evening. Attendees were collectively discouraged by what they saw.

The former Strathmore mill complex, built in 1874 as one of the first mills in Turners Falls, has been vacant since 2007 when a fire, determined to be caused by arson, destroyed Building 10 and damaged two other buildings, according to a report by the Urban Land Institute. It was then bought by the town in 2010 and has since failed as a prospect for development. The town is now faced with having to demolish the remaining structures due to their irreparable structural degradation.

Building 11, a seven-story structure located between the complex’s other buildings and the Southworth Co.’s Paperlogic building, was long considered the only portion of the Strathmore complex potentially viable for reuse. It has previously been explored for residential, commercial and cultural preservation uses.

“A few years ago, we were very actively talking about saving that building ... but unfortunately, time has taken its toll on that building as well,” Ramsey told the Selectboard.

“It really did have extraordinary promise at one point in time and it’s hard to be in there if you have a connection to it,” Ellis added.

The masonry and roof are highly compromised, Ramsey specified. Weather conditions made the magnitude of the building’s disrepair abundantly clear during Monday’s tour, he said.

“It was raining out, so it was very obvious to see that the roof has completely failed,” he recapped. “It was just pouring buckets all the way down all seven floors of the building, so conditions are not very good.”

Ellis added that the town will scale its advocacy for demolition-related aid relative to the severity of the complex’s condition.

“Our team, understanding the worsening condition of the entire Strathmore mill complex, has continued to intensify our work with state and federal officials,” he assured. “The governor’s office has been tremendous in their responsiveness. This new administration is very engaged.”

At the same Selectboard meeting, Ramsey announced a $132,700 site readiness grant that the state awarded Montague as part of its One Stop for Growth program. The grant, administered by MassDevelopment, will fund both demolition design and reuse planning relative to the Strathmore mill complex.

“Of course, this is just funding for the design work,” Ramsey emphasized. “This is not actually funding the demolition, which is something the town is still very actively working on with our state and federal officials.”

Ramsey noted that there will be a “kickoff meeting” next week where town and MassDevelopment officials will engage in “pre-contract discussion” and work further toward defining the scope of the demolition project.

“This is an exciting development for the town,” Ramsey said. “It takes our partial demolition design and advances it to a full demolition of the entire complex.”

He added that further public informational sessions and hearings will be scheduled as progress is made.

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.