Gutierrez will buy BRMC for $20 million
Published on December 8th, 1999
STONEHAM, MA - A deal struck Wednesday between the Southern New England Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists and the Burlington-based Gutierrez Co. will allow the $20 million dollar sale of the 41-acre former Boston Regional Medical Center campus off Woodland Road to go forward.
The deal that saved the sale gives $500,000 to the Adventist organization. Both an Adventist church and high school will leave the property, but not until after the school year ends on June 30. According to Gutierrez spokesperson Ted Doyle, the $500,000 will come half from Gutierrez and half from creditors' assets from the sale.
The $20 million offer Gutierrez made in August to buy the entire, unencumbered site was the only offer on the table when bids closed in October. The hospital, which declared bankruptcy in February of 1999, owes creditors around $60 million.
In October the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the offer, but a jury agreed with a challenge from the New England Memorial Adventist Church located on the property that the congregation had a right to remain. The Greater Boston Academy, the Adventist-run high school also located on the property, made a similar challenge, but the jury decided the school had to go.
By November more than 100 students and staff feared they would be tossed out of school mid-year. And the Gutierrez Co. was considering scrapping its offer, which had been for the whole site with no church or school.
"At this point the judge told us to get together and work something out," Doyle said.
If Judge Carol Kenner of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approves the deal and a 10-day appeals period elapses without incident, the property will be sold.
Where will the money go?
Pastor Eric Doran of the New England Memorial Adventist Church said his congregation expects to see the bulk of the $500,000.
"The money was basically a sale of the church property; the building is worth $1.3 to $1.6 million in the open market," Doran said.
What next?
Doyle said Gutierrez plans to speak with Stoneham town officials about possible uses of the property.
Town Administrator Jeff Nutting said if zoning changes or site plans are necessary, the whole process will be public.
Nutting expects to hear from Gutierrez in a couple weeks if all goes well with the sale.
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