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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-08-22-SSCC-rpt.pdf Tofun of 71.exingtmt, Atummipmfts ! MEMORANDUM To: Board of Selectme_i DATE. 8/22/77 PAGE: 1 of 5 SUBJECT' Progress Report 1 REVIEW OF COMMITTEE CHARGE AND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP The School Sites Conversion Committee was appointed by the Board of Selectmen on April 13, 1977 and given the following charge 1 To determine the best short-term handling of the Hancock School 2 To determine the most advisable disposition of the Hancock School building and site; bearing in mind, among all other considerations , the historic nature of the building, the effect of various alternative uses on the immediate neighborhood and the overall needs of the Town 3 To gather similar information pertaining to the alternative uses and final disposition of the other schools mentioned in the School Committee 's letter of March 7, 1977 Parker, 1978 ; Munroe, 1979; Adams and Muzzey, 1980 The School Sites Conversion Committee consists of the following members Mary W Miley, Chairman Selectman Otis S Brown, Jr School Committee Iris G Wheaton Planning Board Herbert P Grossimon Permanent Building Committee Sara B Chase Historical Commission Robert M Hutchinson, Jr Town Manager J Keith Butters Finance/Economics Ronald W Colwell Businessman/Realtor Charles H Cole, II Architect/Engineer Donald H Olson Citizen (Hancock District) Roger G Trudeau Citizen-at-large FROM: School Sites Conversion Committee School Sites Conversion Committe - Progress Report Page 2 of 5 2 SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES TO DATE The School Sites Conversion Committee held its first meeting on April 28 , 1977 and has been meeting regularly on a bi-weekly basis As its first step the School Sites Conversion Committee initiated a review of the Town 's priorities listed by the Goals and Objectives Committee and the Growth Policy Committee in 1976 The committee selected from these lists those priorities which were applicable to reuse of school buildings in general and to the reuse of the Hancock School site in particular These priorities , listed below, were used as guidelines in determining the most advisable disposition of the Hancock School 1 Stabilize the tax rate - increase the tax base 2 Preserve the historic character of the Town, and maintain or improve the aesthetic qualities of the Town/Center 3 Increase the commercial diversity and viability of the Central Business District/ alleviate traffic and parking problems in the Central Business District 4 Control teen problems/ provide more recreation and social services for teens and elderly/ provide more non-structured or non-athletic recreation/ improve community relations/ create a community center for youth and/or elderly 5 Provide more elderly and low and moderate income housing In applying these broad Town priorities to the Hancock School situation, the School Sites Conversion Committee developed at the outset the following particular constraints and consider- ations which it has held constantly before itself in its deliberations 1 The need to retain the exterior and, in general, to preserve the historical elements of the building and site 2 The fact that the building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places/ the fact that the building is adjacent to the Town's Historic District 3 The proximity to Belfry Hill, Battle Green and Massachusetts Avenue 4 The lack of easy traffic access to the site - narrow neighborhood streets 5 The limited available parking area/ the smallness of the land area in general School Sites Conversion Committee - Progress Report Page 3 of 5 6 The desirability of entering into such agreements with reuse developers which would retain for the Town certain rights to regain the property some- time in the future; e g , long term lease or ground lease 7 The need to protect the neighborhood from adverse impacts/ the responsibility of respecting the needs and desires of the neighbors The committee has also from the outset kept itself aware of the fact that the reuse determination of the Hancock School is the first of such to be resolved, and that several other schools will most likely follow in the immediate years ahead Following the establishment of these guidelines , the committee proceeded by developing an inventory of the physical aspects of the building Complete data are on file; in summary, the building was found to have a gross area of approximately 23,000 square feet, to be in excellent structural condition, to be oil heated by two steam boilers, to have gas, water and sewer service, but to be in obvious need of extensive remodel- ing if the reuse were to be other than a school To further familiarize themselves with the building and site, the committee toured the facility and held one of its early meetings there Next, the committee developed a two-fold process for arriving at the recommended reuse for the Hancock School A To arrive at some consensus of opinion by extracting from the committee members their individual views on reuse possibilities , util- izing their individual talents and experiences , and expressing their individual assessments of the Town's and the neighborhood 's needs B To develop a specific list of practical alter- natives by soliciting from developers serious proposals for proceeding with the reuse of this facility During the discussions which principally involved process (A) above, arriving at a committee consensus of the most advisable reuse, the committee quite early in its deliberations moved and voted the following two recommendations to the Board of Selectmen 1 That the next Town Warrant include an article proposing the inclusion of the Hancock School site within the Historic District, and 2 That only approximately_1.5 acres_af _thessite be sold or leased along with the building, retaining that triangular portion nearest the Belfry Hill for the Town School Sites Conversion Committee - Progress Report Page 4 of 5 In order to proceed with process (B) above, the generation of proposals from developers, the committee designed an advertisement which was placed in the Boston Globe and in several other New England-wide periodicals These ads generated 52 responses, and following the showing of the building to many interested responders , the committee received 26 written proposals , falling into the following use categories Use Number of proposals received Housing 16 Housing/office mix 2 Offices 3 School 2 Church 2 Museum 1 3 TENTATIVE REACTIONS TO PROPOSALS Each of the 26 written proposals has been reviewed in depth by the committee, weighing each against the criteria, priorities and considerations previously described In addition, at the committee 's request, the Board of Assessors reviewed all the proposals and gave the committee its estimates of the annual taxes that might be realized from several uses Use Estimated annual taxes Condominiums $24,000 - T30,000 Apartments 20 ,000 25 ,000 Offices up to S30,000 Following this review of the proposals and all other information in hand, the committee has reached the following tentative determinations 1 The committee has tentatively eliminated the office, school and museum use proposals for the following summary reasons Use Summary reasons Offices Extends commercial zone into a residential area Heavy traffic impact in residential zone Generates excessive parking requirements School Income to Town likely to be minimal Likely to be a rather unstable reuse Stability of organizations submitting proposals questionable Museum Income to Town likely to be minimal Viability very questionable School Sites Conversion Committee - Progress Report Page 5 of 5 2 The committee has tentatively eliminated one church proposal, retaining the second temporarily until further information regarding their approximate ranges for proposed lease or purchase terms can be acquired 3 The committee is most interested in pursuing the housing and housing/office mix proposals ( 2/3 housing, 1/3 offices) , and to this end has narrowed its considerations to 8 of the housing proposals and the 2 housing/office mix proposals 4 The committee continues to feel that the retaining of some long term rights in the site may be advan- tageous to the Town, and to this end is very interested in both long term lease and long term ground lease possibilities Notwithstanding this feeling, the committee has not ruled out the option of outright sale of the property under the appropriate terms 4 PLANS FOR PROCEEDING Having reviewed the proposals listed above, the committee finds that it is now beginning to arrive at the stage where specific financial proposals have to be weighed, and it therefore feels that it would be most appropriate and helpful to have a professional appraisal of the property made to guide it in its future considerations Therefore, the committee specifically requests that the Board of Selectmen authorize the Town Manager to acquire professional appraisals of the property for the following two situations 1 Recommended selling price if the property is to be sold by the Town to a developer who will convert it to housing 2 Recommended price and terms if the property is to be leased by the Town to a developer who will convert it to housing It is the present intention of the committee to proceed by interviewing the selected proposers in turn The general aim of these interviews will be to gather further information which will allow the committee to narrow its focus in terms of settling on a specific reuse and selecting two or three qualified developers The specific means of carrying out these interviews will be to invite each proposer to meet briefly with the committee to elaborate on his proposal, to explore alternatives and to answer questions of committee members The School Sites Conversion Committee respectfully requests comments and suggestions from the Board of Selectmen