Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Town meeting authorizes select board to sell underused 13 School Street property in South Acton
Summary
Town Meeting approved an article authorizing the select board to sell 13 School Street — an underutilized municipal parking lot — for mixed-use redevelopment; the select board described a proposal that would preserve a limited number of public parking spaces and reuse an adjacent historic firehouse for commercial use.
Town Meeting approved Article 13 authorizing the select board to dispose of 13 School Street, a largely underutilized municipal parking lot in South Acton Village, and to proceed with reuse of the adjacent municipal building at 3 School Street as part of a mixed‑use redevelopment.
Select Board presenters said the lot has been underused since the nearby church relocated and that selling surplus municipal land would reduce maintenance costs, generate one-time revenue (the proposal included a $600,000 purchase offer presented to the select board) and return the parcel to the tax rolls while preserving some public parking. The select board described a responsive proposal that would revitalize the historic firehouse building at 3 School Street for a coffee-shop or similar commercial use, create four ground-floor commercial units and roughly eight residential units above, and preserve at least six public parking spaces on-site as part of the concept the board has authorized staff to pursue.
The finance committee recorded a split position and offered no formal recommendation; committee members described valid arguments on both sides about public parking and economic development. Supporters on the Economic Development Committee and from residents who participated in community visioning argued the sale could catalyze South Acton village revitalization. Opponents urged caution about loss of public parking and preservation of village character.
The article required a two-thirds majority and Town Meeting approved it by that margin. Presenters said the developer’s concept would still require permitting and approvals by town permitting boards and that the select board’s authorization would allow negotiation of sale terms and the permitting process to begin.
Next steps: the select board and town staff will negotiate a purchase-and-sale agreement consistent with the RFP response, preserve the specified public parking allocation in the agreement, and proceed through standard permitting for the redevelopment concept.
