NORWICH – Norwich community members and leaders gathered in the firehouse on Wednesday afternoon to hear a presentation on step two of the nomination study for the Brownfields Opportunity Area Revitalization Plan in the City of Norwich.

Tracey Clothier of The LA Group, P.C., Ellen Pemrick of E.M. Pemrick and Company, and Robert Murray of Shelter Planning & Development, Inc. each contributed to the presentation, offering statistics on economic trends in the City of Norwich and potential uses for city properties that could be revitalized.

Clothier said their study focused on the east half of the city, where they established 32 underutilized sites – roughly 127 acres total – that showed potential for re-development of improvement.

Particular properties that could potentially be revitalized for contemporary use, according to Clothier, are: the warehouse on Borden Avenue, the former Unguentine Building, the former ward schools, and the Heritage Block.

Pemrick presented an Economic and Market Analysis for the city, noting a stark decline in the existence of city retail stores.

According to Pemrick, in 1997, the City of Norwich had 90 retail stores, accounting for 52 percent of total retail sales in Chenango County. But as of 2012, there were only 38 retail stores in the city, accounting for less than 20 percent of retail sales in the county.