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Old Townhouse Committee presents options for old town hall, schedules April 24 community forum
Summary
The Old Townhouse Committee reviewed a memorandum outlining multiple options for the old town hall during its April 8 meeting, discussed sale-and-leaseback financing and estimated renovation costs, and agreed to a community forum on April 24 to gather resident input.
The Old Townhouse Committee for the Town of Hampden reviewed a redevelopment-positioning memorandum on April 8 that lays out multiple options for the town—uilding, including doing nothing, town-owned community or mixed use, sale with leaseback, outright sale to a private owner, demolition and conversion to a park, and pairing the site with a new fire station.
Chair opened the meeting and described the memorandum as the basis for a public community forum that the committee plans to hold on April 24 to gather resident input. The committee reported roughly 240'50 survey responses to date and said it intends to present the survey results at the forum.
Members discussed adding clearer verbiage to the memorandum (one member volunteered to draft additional language) and debated how many options to present publicly; the list fluctuated in discussion but committee members said they expect to narrow the set to three or four for clarity in outreach. The committee agreed to issue a press release with a link to the materials on the town website ahead of the forum.
One committee member described a sale-and-leaseback scenario in which a developer would buy and refurbish the building and then lease space back to the town under negotiated terms that could include community benefits and debt-service arrangements; the committee suggested proceeds from such a transaction could be used to help fund a new fire station. The committee discussed negotiation levers such as a reduced lease term in exchange for upfront payments and requirements for the developer to provide community space.
A member recommended that if the town pursues a sale, it should authorize a title-examiner search to check for deed restrictions (title examiners commonly search back multiple decades); committee members noted a title search is not necessary if the town retains ownership and uses the building in ways consistent with the existing deed language.
Public commenter Rita urged the committee to consult Preservation Massachusetts and other nonprofit programs that can help with funding, architecture and grant sources; she cited examples of projects that combined multiple funding sources and suggested that sale-and-leaseback models have been used to restore buildings while maintaining public uses such as libraries.
The committee referenced an earlier renovation estimate of $8.4 million from 2023 and said current realistic costs may be closer to $10 million, with prevailing-wage requirements likely to raise total expenses. No formal decisions or votes were taken; members emphasized they are compiling research and will forward recommendations to the Select Board and then to Town Meeting for any binding vote.
The committee confirmed the community forum for April 24 (materials and a press release to precede the event) and scheduled preparation for follow-up work on the 28th; the meeting closed with routine scheduling discussion and no policy votes.
