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Selectboard approves draft Lowell Mason House ground lease subject to final property description
Summary
The Selectboard approved a 15‑year ground lease for the Lowell Mason House Foundation, enabling the foundation to move forward with a recently awarded $98,700 Mass Cultural Council grant to add an elevator and make the tiny historic house accessible for music‑education programming.
The Medfield Selectboard voted May 19 to accept a draft ground lease with the Lowell Mason House Foundation, clearing a key administrative step so the foundation can use a recently awarded state grant to make the historic structure accessible and program-ready.
Tom Scottie, president of the Lowell Mason House, outlined the foundation’s plans to restore and use the 20-by-30-foot house at 59 Green Street as a museum and community music‑education center. Scottie said the Foundation had just been awarded a $98,700 Mass Cultural Council grant for an addition with an elevator that would provide ADA access to all three floors, enabling practice rooms, small performances and community meeting space.
"We were informed we got the grant which totals $98,700," Scottie said, noting the grant makes finalizing the lease a prerequisite for permitting and construction.
Attorney Ted Cannon, who presented the draft lease, said the proposed terms generally mirror a prior town‑meeting authorization: the foundation would occupy a carved‑off parcel under a 15‑year lease at a nominal rent ($1 per year) and accept full responsibility for improvements and removal if the lease terminates. Board members and town counsel focused questions on the lease’s end‑of‑term clauses (obligations to remove improvements and the town’s right to retain improvements after an 18‑month period) and on whether the town should seek a longer term in the future.
Board members agreed the 15‑year lease would be a practical near‑term measure to allow work to proceed, and they authorized final signatures once the legal property description is attached. The motion to accept the draft lease was made and seconded; the board voted in favor.
Why it matters
Lowell Mason (born 1792) is widely recognized as an early advocate for music education in American public schools; preserving his birthplace as an accessible music‑education site aligns local historic‑preservation goals with cultural programming and the recently secured state grant. Finalizing the lease allows the Foundation to submit grant paperwork to the Mass Cultural Council and begin permitting and construction activities.
Next steps
Town counsel and staff will finalize the property description and circulate the clean lease for signatures; the foundation will forward grant documentation to the Mass Cultural Council and proceed with permitting for the ADA addition.
