Public safety concessions rescue BRMC land deal
Published on June 7th, 2000
STONEHAM, MA - Last week selectmen resurrected a deal with the Gutierrez Company to develop the former Boston Regional Medical Center property.
The hospital on the hill is no more and may never be again, but in tax dollars and linkage payments the deal could bring millions to Stoneham and create more than 3,000 new jobs.
The Gutierrez Company and the Town of Stoneham are close to signing, according to both parties.
In October of 1999 the U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the $20 million offer Gutierrez made to purchase the 42-acre Woodland Road property from the creditors committee formed after the hospital declared bankruptcy in February of 1999.
At the May 23, 2000, selectmen's meeting the deal looked dead: selectmen were at odds over what should be required of the developer and were not prepared to present a united front at the June 12 Town Meeting in support of zoning articles necessary for the deal to move forward.
Board members on each side of the debate said the zoning would not pass the Town Meeting without unanimous support from the board.
Selectman Al Conti wanted money for public safety capital costs which he said the hospital would effect.
Selectmen Robert Sweeney, Darin Leahy and Chairman Patrick Jordan did not want to sour the deal and lose the estimated $1.2 million in annual tax revenue. They questioned estimates of the capital costs and worried whether other options for the site would yield as much revenue for the town.
"This is the biggest development in the history of Stoneham, at least in my lifetime, and I wanted to make sure we did it right," Jordan said.
The board members hashed out their differences at an off-site meeting on May 30 with no cameras. The selectmen took a firm stance behind Conti and negotiated for public safety linkage payments.
"Al (Conti) did a great job," Leahy said.
Under the agreement between the Town and Gutierrez — in addition to property taxes — Gutierrez will 1) pay up to $40,000 for a public safety study 2) buy two $10,000 "emitters," mechanisms which automatically turn traffic lights to green for emergency vehicles (for use in the Square and the intersection of Pond and Summer Streets), and 3) pay $1.12 per square foot for new construction to the town up to 540,000 square feet and $1.50 per square foot over that, with a minimum payment of $600,000, if the building is not a hotel.
If a hotel is built, the town will receive $1.50 per square foot for the whole thing.
Parking area is not included in this calculation.
This money is due in full upon the builder's receipt of an occupancy permit.
Also, if any new construction occurs, regardless of the amount, Gutierrez will owe the town $600,000 in full within four years of the signed agreement.
The money will pay for new police and fire equipment and facilities, as recommended by the safety study, e. g. a fire substation, cruisers, guns or any other capital costs.
Two important points should not be overlooked: whoever holds the title to this property will be obliged to follow the terms of the agreement, and Gutierrez formally stated that this deal was made regardless of the selectmen's decision on zoning.
"We are a united front now," said Sweeney. Selectmen Cosmo Ciccarello, Jordan, Leahy, Conti and Sweeney all say the Gutierrez agreement is good for the town.
Conti said he would support the zoning amendments before the June 12 Town Meeting.
"The board is unanimous that doing so is in Stoneham's best interest," Conti said.
Arthur Gutierrez, Jr. and Charles Houghton, a Stoneham attorney representing the Gutierrez Company, are also optimistic about the deal.
"We think we will produce a project that we and the town are proud of," Gutierrez said at the June 6 selectmen's meeting.
If the deal is signed, and if a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting approves the zoning changes, Gutierrez must still go through the site plan and special permit process to build on the old hospital site.
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