Winchester voters approve sales of 50–52 Cottage Street and 109 Marshall Street; 104 Norfolk Road offered with demolition condition

Winchester voters at a special town meeting on Thursday, April 3, 2025, approved the sale of two town-owned parcels — 50–52 Cottage Street and 109 Marshall Street — by paper ballot. Officials also presented a conditional sale for 104 Norfolk Road that requires demolition of the structure by Nov. 30, 2025; the transcript does not record the vote result for that parcel.

Town Manager Paul Harrington told the meeting that the properties were reviewed by staff, the Board of Selectmen and the Planning and Zoning Commission before being placed on the special meeting warrant and that formal offers had been received on the three parcels. “We will have a presentation followed by a discussion,” Harrington said, describing the public process and noting the town’s realtor participated in the review.

The town cited a municipal ordinance that governs factors to consider when awarding bids, including whether a bidder abuts the parcel, whether the bidder will merge parcels to improve conformity with planning and zoning, whether the bidder is current on taxes and user fees, the proposed use of the property, and the long-term economic, environmental and aesthetic impacts. The town manager said staff mailed notices to abutters and posted signs on the properties before the meeting.

50–52 Cottage Street The first property presented was 50–52 Cottage Street, an 18th-century structure on a 0.2-acre lot. The town’s 2023 appraisal listed a value of $127,800; the town staff reported a 70% assessed value of $89,460 and estimated annual tax revenue at roughly $2,437 based on the current mill rate. The board placed a contract before the voters for $70,000. After paper ballots were distributed and collected, the moderator announced, “The votes have been cast and counted. 24 yes votes, 0 no votes. The property is sold.”

104 Norfolk Road Town staff described 104 Norfolk Road as a single structure built about 1930 on roughly a half-acre lot. The board’s contract with the prospective buyer is conditional: the buyer must demolish the existing structure on or before Nov. 30, 2025, and no future construction is allowed under the condition stated in the contract. Town staff said the prospective buyer is an abutter and that only one bid was submitted for the parcel. The town did not provide a post-vote tally in the transcript; the sale price presented was $8,000 and the town’s GIS-listed assessed value appeared as $1,239. The transcript records questions about how the lot’s assessed value will change after demolition; staff replied the change would appear on the next grand list.

109 Marshall Street The final item was 109 Marshall Street. The town presented a contract with a high bidder for $90,000. Voters received paper ballots from the registrars and the moderator later announced the result: 24 yes votes, 0 no votes.

Votes at a glance - 50–52 Cottage Street: motion to sell for $70,000 to the party under contract; ballot result announced as 24–0 in favor; outcome: approved. - 104 Norfolk Road: motion to sell for $8,000 to the bidder under contract; contract condition requires demolition by 11/30/2025; vote tally not recorded in transcript; outcome: not specified in transcript. - 109 Marshall Street: motion to sell for $90,000 to the high bidder under contract; ballot result announced as 24–0 in favor; outcome: approved.

Process and next steps The moderator and town manager reminded registered voters to use the yellow registration ticket to receive the paper ballot for each property. Town staff indicated that the Board of Selectmen had considered multiple offers in executive session before forwarding the recommended contracts to the town meeting. With the announced results, the meeting had no further business and adjourned.