Shopping at... the Button Factory?

A plan to develop the historic Ball and Socket Company site on West Main Street could bring stores, cafes, offices, and perhaps housing, to the well-known property that dominates the streetscape in the neighborhood.

"It's in the planning stages. We want to put together a project that fits the town and has the town government behind it," said realtor Steve Miller of Levey Miller Maretz, LLC of Woodbridge. The industrial property went on the market in late February.

Miller has been hired by the property owners Peter and John Dalton to direct redevelopment plans for the 3.2 acre site that's commonly known as the button factory. He said future discussions with the Cheshire Planning Department will explore the best use for the location.

"It's has a very important background, with the canal trail going right by it," Miller said. There are four or five buildings on the site but the large brick building at the front of the lot is probably the only one worth saving, he said.

"I've used it for years as dry storage," Peter Dalton said in a voice mail message. "Hopefully, somebody will buy it at a legitimate price and develop it in a way that's beneficial to the streetscape and the historical impact of that antique building."

Dalton bought the factory building in 1996 and owns the adjacent Dalton Enterprises Company on Willow Street. "The only reason to sell it is I don't need it any longer," Dalton said.

The section of West Main Street where the factory is located has recently undergone a streetscape upgrade with brick pavers replacing concrete sidewalks and the installation of wrought-iron style street signs and lighting. 

"We hope to revitalize it and the streetscape area," Miller said. A purchase price for the property has not yet been decided, Miller said. The property is assessed by the town at nearly $695,000.

The corner location was the site of the Cheshire Manufacturing Company which was founded in 1850. The factory made ivory combs and buttons and later changed its name to the Ball and Socket Company, which made metal stampings and buttons.

A proposal to extend the Farmington Canal Rails to Trails Linear Park would eventually bring the pathway along the old factory property from Cornwall Avenue to West Main Street. A more immediate plan will extend the trail from West Main Street to Jarvis Street. That trail location is directly across the street from the factory.