Select Board approves agreement to end Stephen Palmer leases Oct. 31, 2026, and fund tenant relocation aid

The Needham Select Board voted Oct. 14 to approve a memorandum of agreement with Stephen Palmer Associates that sets a final move-out date of Oct. 31, 2026, for residents of the 28-unit Stephen Palmer Apartments and creates a tenant assistance package pending appropriation at a special town meeting.

Town Manager Katie King said the agreement is intended to give tenants predictable notice and time to relocate while the town completes a community planning process to determine future uses for the former school site. “May 2027 is 18 months away and in town time, I think that's really, like a blink of an eye,” King said, summarizing why the town sought an earlier uniform move-out date.

The agreement requires Stephen Palmer Associates to stop entering new leases once a unit becomes vacant and gives residents the option to leave earlier without penalty. The town agreed to reimburse Stephen Palmer Associates for rent on units that become vacant and to cover individually metered utilities for vacant units until the ground lease ends. The town also agreed that if the building becomes fully vacant before the May 3, 2027 ground-lease termination, the town will accept the building early; and if the landlord loses required insurance because of reduced occupancy, the town may accept the building back between March 15 and May 3, 2027.

King described the town's parallel tenant assistance plan, contingent on funding. The proposed package would reimburse eligible relocation costs up to $10,000 per unit; eligible categories are (1) the difference between a tenant's new rent and current rent for up to four months, (2) security deposits, (3) moving costs, and (4) application fees. The town has also contracted with the consultant Housing a Home to provide one-on-one relocation help to Stephen Palmer residents beginning Nov. 1 if the funding is approved.

Residents at the meeting pressed the board on the timing and legal obligations. Tenant Judy McIntyre said she had been told last year the building would be available to tenants through the lease end and that the new schedule felt like a surprise. “I was lied to,” McIntyre said, asking the board to restore six months to residents’ tenure. Resident Peter Lert urged the town to confirm whether Mass. General Laws Chapter 79A — the state relocation assistance requirement — applies, saying, “this state law requires relocation assistance to residents displaced by any renovation project, public or private.” King said she would consult advisors on the application of 79A.

Select Board members debated alternatives. Select Board member Josh said he opposed the agreement and urged a different approach that would seek a short-term replacement manager or ground-lease assignee to preserve residents’ ability to stay through the full lease term. Select Board members Heidi Fraley, Mary Anne Cooley, Kevin (chair), and the chair voted to approve the memorandum of agreement; the motion passed 4–1 with Josh dissenting.

The board also voted to support related warrant motions to fund the agreement and tenant assistance at a special town meeting on Oct. 20, 2025; the board approved the motion to support Article 5 (the Stephen Palmer appropriation) by the same 4–1 margin and approved Article 6 (a related FY26 operating-budget amendment that includes potential funding for the Stephen Palmer costs) unanimously. The town estimates the preliminary cost to be funded to support the agreement at about $385,000; the final total will depend on vacancies and documented relocation reimbursements.

The town manager said the select board has formed a community engagement committee that meets Oct. 15 to plan a public process to decide the building’s long-term future and that even if a use is decided the resulting redevelopment could be years away. King emphasized the agreement is intended to delink immediate tenant-transition steps from the longer-term reuse planning.

The board’s approval sends the memorandum and funding requests to the Oct. 20 special town meeting for consideration and appropriation.