Toscolano Maderno Council Plans to Purchase Former Paper Mill for Municipality

The town hall will move to the former Vetturi paper mill, on which the srl Vallelago is already working. This was the major news that emerged in the latest Toscolano Maderno city council meeting; the same meeting that approved a preliminary draft of the sale. The decision sparked some controversy. For example, former assessor of the Polo Pier Angelo Bonaspetti criticized the operation, considering it a gift to private interests, citing the excessive amounts to be paid. The center-left faction left the chamber, declaring they had filed a report with the judiciary regarding the entire matter, deeming the various procedures too lax. The factory, located at the entrance of the Valle delle Cartiere, right at the start of the road leading to Gaino, had closed many years ago. In 1993, an urban recovery plan was approved that included a volume of 20,630 cubic meters divided among residential (8,891), office (6,850), and commercial (4,889) areas. The covered square meters would have decreased from 3,224 to 2,178. The then-mayor Marco Manfredi and vice-mayor Fausto Morati announced they were negotiating the purchase of a floor to transfer all the municipal offices there, about one hundred meters away. However, the entire project remained on hold and re-emerged from the shadows in September 1997, when the center-left administration led by Silvano Boni approved an updated recovery plan. The most significant innovation? The acquisition of a 450-square-meter room, usable as an auditorium, near the historic bridge, for organizing concerts, debates, and meetings. Private developers were to deliver the space in a shell state. Behind the area was a public parking lot. Additionally, 3,000 square meters of private underground parking spaces. Some raised doubts about residential development within the former paper mill, at the valley entrance and below the Valvestino dam, suggesting, unsuccessfully, an industrial archeology-themed restoration. Given the scenic beauty of the location, the Regional Environmental Heritage Department imposed a series of restrictions: a maximum of two meters of height increase; no condominium solutions such as railings and shutters; a requirement to preserve the large industrial-style windows; no paving of the courtyard square. In the agreement, Vallelago (a Rezzato-based company managed by Marino Savoldi) committed to renovating the 1,650-square-meter public parking lot, green areas, paving the portico, and constructing the auditorium, up to a value of 600 million lire. Last year, the agreement was revised. The company carried out some public works, such as widening the Matteotti square between the 45 bis bridge and the former paper mill, receiving eleven parking spaces in exchange. During that process, the minority parties considered the procedure somewhat informal and criticized the new assessor Fabio Belloni, who left the room because he was the architect of Vallelago. “Will he serve the community’s interests or those of the company?” asked Daniela Vassalini from the Ppi area.

Transition to transfer and purchase

Now, with work already underway, a surprising move. Mayor Paolo Elena and the Polo administrators have decided to buy a large part of the property to relocate the Municipality, which is now inadequate for the needs. In the basement, 1,053 square meters, of which 635 have already been acquired through the agreement; on the ground floor, 735 square meters; on the first floor, 756; and on the second, 316. The agreed price: four million three hundred thousand lire per square meter, inclusive of 10 percent VAT. Payment will be immediate, with 700 million lire as a confirmatory deposit, and the remaining amount divided into two installments of half a billion each, based on the progress of the work.

The 2001 budget allocates 800 million lire; the 2002 program, six billion nine hundred million lire, all to be secured through the Law of Objectives 2, targeting depressed areas, i.e., grants from the European Union either non-refundable or at zero interest. What if the funding does not materialize? The purchase will be reduced to 1,800 square meters.