By Richard Price
Grafton News Editor –
A Special Town Meeting has been called by officials to adjust the sale price of municipal owned property. Voters are encouraged to attend.
Scheduled for Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. inside the Grafton High School, the presentation and then vote will be set to adjust the sale price for 104 Creeper Hill Road to $200,000 which town officials said will be profitable to taxpayers.
“In May 2012, Town Meeting voted to purchase the property at 104 Creeper Hill Road in hopes of promoting its development for commercial purposes,” said Town Administrator Tim McInerney in a news release. He said the town bought it for $350,000. “In the May 2015 Town Meeting it was voted to sell the property…for no less than $300,000. Since that time, the October 2015 Town Meeting voted to enter into a lease for a portion of the site for the development of a cell tower.”
In December 2015, Selectmen entered into a 25-year lease agreement for $24,600 with US Wireless for a 100 foot by 100 foot section towards the rear of the parcel. The lease included a 3 percent annual escalator which would bring the deal to approximately $900,000, the town said. “US Wireless has been surveying the site and otherwise preparing to go before the Planning Board for a special permit, which we expect will happen later this summer,” McInerney said.
In January 2016, the town requested proposals for the purchase of the remainder of the parcel. The highest bid, $200,000, was from Russo Bros. Inc, a land development company located in Framingham. Town officials called their relationship with the developers “very amiable.”
“They have attended multiple development team meetings to review their proposal and have designed a site that will comply with all of the town’s regulations,” McInerney said adding the company will be applying to the Planning Board for a special permit to build a 10,000 square foot office building with garage space at the rear and a contractor’s yard. “Once approved this building will be constructed very quickly—completed as soon as this fall.”
But before they can do that, voters need to OK the new sale price before the purchasers can obtain title insurance even though the revenue generated between the lease and sale of the parcel exceeds the $300,000 threshold. Officials said without the title insurance, the sale cannot close and the town is at risk of losing its partner and the revenue generated from the sale and the return of the property to the active tax rolls.
“Overall, this is an excellent opportunity for the town,” McInerney said. “Including the cell tower lease, the town’s return will be more than triple its initial investment in the property. Additionally, the office building the Russo Brothers are constructing will have an attractive presence on Creeper Hill.
“While we don’t know what the assessed value will be of the full project, it is likely that we will receive additional tens of thousands of dollars in real estate, personal property and motor vehicle excise taxes,” McInerney said.
Residents are encouraged to direct questions regarding this project to the Town Administrator’s Office at 508-839-5335, ext. 1180.
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