The City of Marion is seeking a qualified abatement contractor (Contractor) to conduct the removal of four (4) underground storage tanks (USTs), one (1) oil/water separator (OWS) at the former Drexel Furniture Manufacturing Plant (Drexel) facility located at 70 Blue Ridge Street in Marion, McDowell County, North Carolina (Site). The Site was previously occupied by Drexel, which operated from 1902 until approximately 2004. Operations on the Site primarily included the manufacturing and finishing of furniture, cabinets, and laminates. The Site was enrolled into the North Carolina Brownfields Program in 2016 (Brownfields Project No. 20072-16-056) and was purchased jointly by the City of Marion and McDowell County Governments in 2018. The Site comprises approximately 16 acres and formerly contained six buildings totaling approximately 170,000 square feet (sq ft). In 2014, the property was sold to Marion Properties, LLC (Marion Properties), who subsequently hired an unlicensed demolition contractor to raze Site structures and salvage the available scrap metal. Marion Properties subsequently abandoned the Site leaving behind one (1) 20,000-gallon and three (3) 30,000-gallon USTs (formerly containing #6 fuel oil) and a 2,000-gallon concrete OWS remain in place at the Site. The USTs and OWS are located within a single tank basin and covered by a concrete slab. Proposed cleanup activities at the Site include the proper removal and disposal of the USTs, OWS, impacted soil (if identified) and non-contaminated concrete.
