Town Notes
Published on July 3rd, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Dow building sold
The Dow building anchoring Central Square in Stoneham has been sold.
The buyer has not yet filed papers at Town Hall, but rumors include a Starbuck’s Coffee franchise and upstairs apartments as possible tenants.
The building is definitely a fixer-upper, but it is also a registered historical building, so the exterior will not be altered.
Lost grant
Stoneham’s grant application for $800,000 from the State Department of Health was rejected.
The state set aside $8 million in 2002 for adult day care programs in Massachusetts. Stoneham was one of 135 communities applying; around 15 got funding.
Project Manager Joe Slavet said that he thought the state skipped over Stoneham because the town hadn’t signed architectural contracts as of the day the state named the grant recipients last week.
Signed contracts were not a prerequisite, but Slavet’s years of experience gave him an educated hunch.
“I have a feeling the state wanted to give the money to those farthest along so they would have something to show the legislature,” Slavet said.
But all is not lost. Stoneham did get $35,000 to plan the adult day care center. And Stoneham will receive $20,000 for every job created — Slavet estimates 15 to 20 positions. Also, Slavet is confident that he can raise the additional $300,000 to $350,000 necessary to complete construction from a combination of public and private sources.
“We may even be able to convince the state to continue the (grant) program for one more year,” Slavet said.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!