Milford May Rezone Vacant Archer Rubber Site For Reuse

MILFORD, MA — The town may soon take a key step toward rejuvenating a vacant property in the downtown Milford area.

The Milford Planning Board this month voted to amend the town's zoning to change the former Archer Rubber site along Central Street from an industrial zone to business park and residential districts. That bylaw change will likely be up for a vote at a special town meeting in October.

The former Archer Rubber building occupied a 5-1/2-acre site along the Charles River for more than 140 years until it was demolished beginning in 2017. The site is now a fenced off series of concrete slabs. The town assessor values the property at about $407,000.

Archer Rubber was one of the largest employers in Milford history, and made rubber clothing products for World War II soldiers. The Northborough-based company Trelleborg acquired the factory in 2014, but closed it for good in 2016.

John Charbonneau, Milford's new economic development director, is targeting the Archer Rubber site for renewal. He was set to tour the former factory on Tuesday with the current owners of the site and a representative of the Charles River Watershed Alliance.