The historic Plimpton Press—one of Norwood’s oldest and most prominent industrial anchors—announced Friday that it will permanently cease operations on October 5, leaving the town facing the prospect of taking over the 2.5-acre property through tax foreclosure.
Impending Closure and Back Tax Crisis
According to general manager Alfred M. Flaxington, the company, currently owned by the New York-based M.T. Acquiring Corp., has been in “very poor financial shape” for some time. Having moved from Boston to Norwood 76 years ago and reaching a peak employment of over 1,000 workers during the 1920s, the plant still employed approximately 350 area residents at the time of the closure announcement.
Town Treasurer Raymond T. Halloran stated that because the firm owes the town more than $238,000 in back taxes accumulated over 1970, 1971, and 1972 (exclusive of 1973 taxes and accrued interest), the town initiated lengthy mortgage foreclosure proceedings in June. While Flaxington noted the real estate remains technically on the market, it has sat unsold for three years, hampered by the fact that any private purchaser would assume the town’s substantial tax liens.
Once the foreclosure process is completed—estimated to take between six months and a year—the town will take title to the Lenox Street property. According to assessor’s records, the land is assessed at $387,100 and the buildings at $1,335,800. While the firm also accumulated unpaid municipal light department bills, officials noted that installment payment arrangements had been established for that debt. Meanwhile, equipment is already being dismantled; American Can Co. of Newton, which acquired company assets, is relocating two large web presses to its Indianapolis plant, with one press scheduled to operate at the Lenox Street site through December.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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