Hi Seth, Perhaps my point was missed…
Do you know of a suitable commercial property in Lincoln with ample parking and a big enough existing footprint to allow for only interior renovation? Tricia > On May 13, 2023, at 1:42 PM, Seth Rosen <rosen...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > Tricia, I agree with you, and thankfully for the Harvard taxpayers, reason > prevailed and they ended up with an outcome appropriately responsive to their > needs. > > But we have to be honest about this process and what’s going on - the folks > at the CCBC feel strongly we need a new building, and they are spending > $325,000 to design it. I have not heard anything to suggest that the CCBC > will be evaluating ANY alternatives to a new building. They have clearly > stated their position…. that we have already evaluated alternatives, and it’s > time to build. > > Like you, I would love to see various proposals that are appropriately > responsive to our actual needs, at price points that are reasonable. But I’m > realistic that such proposals are not likely to appear because we aren’t > investigating them. > > Right now is the time to insist that we see some reasonable proposals and > approaches far below this arbitrary “minimum” $12.5m number. > > Seth Rosen > Bedford Road > > >>> On May 13, 2023, at 12:56 PM, Tricia Thornton-Wells >>> <triciathorntonwe...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >> >> >> Dear Neighbors, >> >> I have now read the full article Karla attached, and I agree it offers an >> important contrast. In the article, it is stated that the senior population >> of Harvard is 1700, nearly identical to that of Lincoln. >> >> The key to Harvard’s success in lowering the cost of building a >> community/senior center facility was their ability to identify a privately >> owned business/commercial property in town that the owner was willing to >> sell. They identified a medical facility (see Google pic below), whose >> footprint was adequate, requiring only interior renovation, and an existing >> large parking lot. Does anyone know of such a property in Lincoln??? I >> certainly haven’t seen such a property among our limited non-residential, >> non-conservation properties in town, but indeed residents should bring >> forward any such properties, as that could solve our problem! >> <image1.jpeg> >> >> >> Please also note that their original $4+ Mil proposal involved new >> construction adjacent to an existing historic house. >> >> Tricia Thornton-Wells >> 112 Trapelo Rd >> >>>> On May 11, 2023, at 6:25 PM, Karla Gravis <karlagra...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>> >>> The COA for the town of Harvard, MA is moving into a new site within the >>> next 2 weeks. I believe their experience offers some very useful >>> perspectives for our journey in Lincoln. >>> >>> I am attaching an article with all of the information, but here is a >>> summary: >>> >>> Harvard has a population of ~7K, so 40% higher than Lincoln’s >>> The Harvard COA used to be housed in 19th century Hildreth House. >>> Hildreth House was not meeting the needs of the COA, so the town started >>> the process 13 years ago (in 2010) with a municipal building study for the >>> update and expansion of Hildreth House. >>> After the initial safety and code compliance work was completed, a $4.5M >>> renovation and expansion project was put to town vote. It did not pass as >>> it was considered too expensive. >>> COA then changed course to investigate the purchase and renovation of an >>> existing building in town. >>> The town received two responses to its property request and they chose a >>> 5,400 sq. ft. former medical building, with lots of parking and >>> conveniently located near the Post Office and town amenities like Foxglove, >>> Bowers Brook, Harvard Green, and the McCurdy Track. >>> The town purchased the building for $1.4M, and the renovation and other >>> fees brought the total cost to $2.86M >>> Hildreth House will now be used for the town land boards, since Town Hall >>> is running out of space >>> In addition to COA specific programming, the new building was designed to >>> enable community use for events as well as serve as a warming/cooling >>> station or shelter during extreme weather events. >>> Food for thought: Harvard, with 40% more residents than Lincoln, spent >>> ~$2.9M on a 5,400 sqft COA building that also allows community use for >>> events, while still being responsible with historical buildings and >>> addressing empty office space in town. If the Harvard COA changed course >>> after many years of work, when it became clear the project was too >>> expensive, why can't Lincoln do the same instead of tying ourselves to what >>> was decided in 2015? >>> >>> <Harvard Senior Center Newspaper Article.docx> >>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>> Change your subscription settings at >>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>
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