The Tremont Nail Factory site contains eight buildings on 7.2 acres. The town purchased the site in 2004, and the Community Preservation Committee and the Board of Selectmen commissioned a study by the Menders, Torrey and Spencer, Inc. architecture firm in 2008 to evaluate the conditions of the site and its buildings and to study the feasibility of the site for adaptive reuse.

The report was completed in July 2009, and included a thorough analysis of each building on the site, the costs associated with stabilizing that building so it could be used in the future, and estimates the rehabilitation costs using three figures - a low cost of $150 per square foot, medium cost of $250 per square foot, and a high cost of $300 per square foot.

These costs, however, depend on the renovation being proposed. For instance, there would be significantly more expense in converting the factory building into a restaurant that must meet food-service standards and provide restroom facilities, etc. than in converting one or several rooms of the building into a seasonal museum.

Furthermore, the renovations need not all occur simultaneously. While the town must stabilize the site to ensure its future use, some buildings can be renovated to provide temporary uses that bring people to the site, ensuring that people remember its importance and its potential, and providing a revenue stream that can fund further projects.

The town is currently investigating how best to proceed in using the site, with many organizations collaborating on how to best encourage redevelopment that not only addresses the needs of the site but also addresses the needs of Wareham.

Click here to take an interactive tour of the Tremont Nail Property

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Click the buildings on the map to learn about each one.