HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-09-26-SSCC-rpt.pdf Tot= I `i!lexiugtaxr, iti'asourhusetts
MEMORANDUM
TO: Board of Selectmen DATE: 9-26-77 PAGE: 1
SUBJECT' Report and
Recommendations
In its last report to the Selectmen, the Committee was asked to continue the
/ effort of analyzing uses and proposals for the Hancock School At that point
in time, the Committee had reduced the uses under consideration to two, namely;
housing and housing/office mix. The Committee indicated its intent to select
ten proposals from the twenty-six received for closer study With the consent
provided by the Selectmen, the Committee proceeded on that course It now
presents its findings, and seeks the guidance of the Board of Selectmen before
taking further action
In accordance with its plans, ten developers were selected and invited to meet
with the Committee Seven chose to do so Extensive discussions were held
relative to possible uses within the housing and housing/office framework,
and relative to the specific proposals and capabilities of each developer
The Committee now feels that the use of the Hancock School should be limited
to housing In view of the locale and the size of the building, the Committee
feels that office use is inappropriate
The Committee further feels that the Hancock School property should be sold
outright, subject to restrictive covenants with regard to protecting the
historical character of the building, and further subject to the retention by
the town of approximately 1 acre of the 2 4 acre site Other means of con-
veying the property were examined, including leasing, ground lease, purchase
with buy-back option, and purchase with reversion to the town after a stipu-
lated number of years It is felt that an outright sale is in the best interests
of the town,
With regard to the type of housing to be developed, the Committee felt that the
final decision should be made by the Selectmen The Committee itself heavily
favored condominium use Its second choice was for rental apartments for
moderate income families
In terms of selecting a developer, the Committee reached a quick concensus on
three, namely
Lexington Loft
Sidney & Noyes Associates
American Properties Team.
FROM: School Sites Conversion Committee
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MEMORANDUM
TDBoard of Selectmen DATE: 9-26-77 PAGE: 2
SUBJECT' Report and
Recommendations
Of these, one expresses reticence to implement condominiums A second is not
interested in building rental apartments It thus seems that if all three
I are invited to submit a further proposal based on the Selectmen's choice of
use, at least two responsive proposals can be anticipated for the final
selection process prior to Town Meeting
Considerable thought was given by the Committee to using the Hancock School
property to partially satisfy the Town's need for subsidized low income housing
Three responsive development proposals were received from
American Properties Team
Sidney & Noyes Associates and
Lexington Interfaith Corporation
For a variety of reasons, the Committee chose not to recommend this use for
Hancock School These reasons included the time element required to obtain
subsidy funding, the size of the building, and the neighborhood
The Committee did feel, however, that the Town should address this need at
the earliest possible time for one of the other school buildings to be made
surplus Both the Committee and the Lexington Housing Authority felt that
either Adams or Parker School would be more satisfactory for this use By
addressing the problem now, the Selectmen could set aside one of the buildings
for subsidized housing and allow potential developers to begin to address the
complex problems of isolating subsidy funds
In summary, the Committee's findings are
1 That Hancock School be sold
2 That Hancock School be used for housing
3 That the Selectmen specify whether the
housing consist of condominiums or
rental apartments
4 That all three selected developers be
asked to propose on the selected use,
and
5 That the Selectmen address the problem
of allocating another school for Low-
income housing use
FROM: School Sites Conversion Committee