The former Kingsbury Corp. site on Marlboro Street in Keene. Image courtesy of Google Maps.

Two members of the Keene City Council are urging their colleagues to take over a vacant former factory close to the center of the city. 

Councilors Mitchell Greenwald, Janis O. Manwaring and David Richards sent a letter to their colleagues Feb. 25 declaring that it was time for the city to initiate the “tax deeding” process, a means by which the city can take possession of properties that are behind on their taxes.  

“We have observed for too long and heard from many of our constituents that the Kingsbury property on Marlboro Street has been in arrears for property taxes,” the letter said. “The city has been extremely cooperative with the current owner, with little results.” 

The property was bought by Manchester businessman Brian Thibeault in 2013 for $50,000, according to city property records.  

The Keene Sentinel reported at the time that he planned to renovate the 21.58-acre parcel for industrial and office uses. Little to no evident progress has been made on those plans since then, the paper reported recently, possibly due to questions of industrial contamination at the site. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently studying the issue. 

The facility was once home to a machine tool-making division of the Kingsbury Corp. toy company.