Note: This story has been updated with comments from Scott Gibbs.
NORTH SMITHFIELD – The landmark Milk Can on Route 146 Eddie Dowling Highway is now on the market for $7.5 million, as part of a 5.5-acre real estate development opportunity.
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Pinnacle Realty has listed the dilapidated structure, plus four total parcels of land and an 8,800-square-foot, two-level building with loading dock.
This is a rare offering in North Smithfield, states the listing, “an iconic and highly visible property” along the corridor, featuring the historic Milk Can structure, a well-known example of classic American roadside architecture with on-site septic system and grease trap.”
The four parcels are being “offered as a package or potentially as separate properties, providing flexibility for developers, investors, and end users,” and are located along the rapidly progressing reconstruction of the highway.
“With strong traffic exposure and ongoing growth in the surrounding area, this site is ideally positioned for a variety of commercial or mixed-use possibilities (subject to approvals),” states the listing. “The existing Milk Can building offers character, branding potential, and the chance to restore or repurpose a recognizable local landmark.”
It adds, “Bring your vision to life with this one-of-a-kind property offering both history and future upside. For more information on this property contact the listing agent. Buyer to perform all due diligence.”
When the Milk Can was still in Lincoln back in 1983, it was described in a survey as “an ice cream store, built in the shape of a dairyman’s cream can. The lower level is drum-shaped, and is topped by a conical section which, in turn, is capped by another, smaller, drum-shaped section.”
Closed in its original location in Lincoln in 1968, it was moved to its current location in 1987. Owner Frank D’Andrea planned at the time to turn it into a roadside food stop. Those plans came up short due to a variety of issues, including a lack of sewer connection and contaminated water.
D’Andrea was killed in a motorcycle crash in 2004. His family later said that they hoped to turn the building into a microbrewery or cider house, but that never happened.
Town Administrator Scott Gibbs told The Local Insider he doesn’t know the current status of remediation on the property. He said it seems the Milk Can has been sitting there “forever.” Any buyer would make sure that cleanup efforts are completed to their satisfaction, he added, because once they buy it it becomes their liability.
Gibbs said the town is in the second phase of a feasibility study for the Route 146 corridor now, from the former Fogarty Hospital all the way to the Lincoln town line, which is intended to eventually lead to the arrival of utilities. A key component of that work relates to water and sewers, he said, because without them, optimum development will never happen here.
The effort is covering a market study, the land use regulation approach in the area, and the financial aspects. A tax incremental financing (TIF), which uses new tax revenues generated in an area to cover costs, would be used to fund future utility work.
