Franklin's Main Street may get makeover

FRANKLIN — Main Street might have a makeover in the making.
Franklin Borough officials have received and are preparing to review an application requesting subdivision of the old zinc mine property, marking what Mayor Nicholas Giordano said could be the first step toward changing “a lot of things on Main Street.”
According to Giordano, an unnamed party submitted an application to subdivide the old zinc mine property located behind 91 Main Street, which is currently considered together as one lot. The proposed move would separate the lower, harder to utilize portion of the property from the upper, more usable section to allow development of new, smaller upper lot. The lower portion of the property is considered more difficult to repurpose because it contains the remnants of the zinc mining operation, including concrete and buildings, the mayor said.
“I can't really talk about what (the application) entails, but it basically is gonna hopefully separate the sections so we have development in the zinc mine. In other words, this is the start of the potential redevelopment of the zinc mine property,” Giordano commented, noting the idea fits “very well” with Borough ambition to revitalize the area.
The zinc mine closed back in 1954 and Giordano recalled the site was used for various purposes for the next decade and a half. Since the 1970s, though, Giordano indicated the property has been sitting idle.
Giordano said the applicant has a yet-to-be-submitted plan for buildings on the site, but observed subdivision of the lot is the first step in the greater scheme.
The subdivision application could go before the Land Use Board as soon as the next meeting, and could subsequently be considered by the Borough Council as early as February.