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Muzzey High Condominium Association Muzzey Condominium Building Study The Muzzey High Condominium Association is requesting $53,500 in funding for a comprehensive building and accessibility study under the affordable housing and historic preservation provisions of the Community Preservation Act. These funds, in addition to $6,000 from the condominium association, will be used to hire TBA Architects of Waltham to conduct a full evaluation of the Muzzey High Condominiums located at 1475 Massachusetts Avenue. The Muzzey High Condominiums were first opened in 1985. The building provides 70 units of affordable homes to qualified buyers or individuals and families, including 12 rental units owned by LexHAB. In addition, Muzzey is home to Lexington’s Senior Center. A gateway to Lexington Center, the building was originally the site of the high school and junior high school, and parts of the building are over 100 years old. Although Muzzey received a partial restoration in 1984 and 1985, when the building was sold by the Town to a private developer for conversion to affordable housing and the Senior Center, many parts of the building are deteriorating and need urgent attention. In addition, many owners are faced with exorbitant energy costs, some paying over $500 a month in electricity bills during the heating season for 575-1465 square foot-units. In order to maintain the affordability of the condominium units at Muzzey, the Town set re-sale restrictions on the units in the building’s Master Deed conveyed to the developer. Owners cannot sell their units for more than 5% of their purchase price compounded annually. In addition to this re-sale restriction, the Town does not allow owners to pass the costs of building repairs and renovations onto buyers. The 5% re-sale cap was increased from 4% in 1993 with the understanding that the extra funds generated by this 1% increase in the re-sale value would cover costs of repairs incurred by owners. Owners fully understand that they are ultimately responsible for all repairs and renovations to Muzzey. Over the last 21 years Muzzey owners have paid for $710,000 in repairs that include replacing the buildings’ pitched and flat roofs, de-leading and painting the exterior windows, re- pointing bricks, and replacing walkways. In 2007, Muzzey owners will be assessed $174,000 in fees that the condominium association will use for building repair and maintenance (24% of budget), landscaping and snow removal (21% of budget), utilities (20% of budget), taxes (3% of budget), management company fees (15% of budget), accounting and legal services (4% of budget), insurance (12% of budget), and supplies (1% of budget). Each year an attempt is made to develop a budget with a surplus of $15,000 that is moved to the reserve account once that year’s books are closed, but in recent years the association has fallen short of this goal. In order to maintain affordability for owners, the condominium association has made an effort to keep fee increases to a minimum, rising a total of about 55% since 1985. Given the fact that the building was not fully restored at the time the first condominium units were sold, the owners (some of whom have annual incomes of $20,000) are now faced with undertaking a major restoration of the building without adequate resources for such an expensive project. This study will be the first step in developing a long-term plan to preserve the building. The Community Preservation Committee recommends funding this request.