SWAMPSCOTT — The town will hold on to four properties, at least until the fall, while a new committee explores the matter in greater detail.
In a lengthy presentation to Town Meeting on Tuesday, Building Study Committee Chairwoman Angela Ippolito recommended selling the Greenwood Avenue school building, Temple Israel and the Phillips Beach firehouse. The three would be developed as residential properties.
The committee recommended keeping the former senior center on Burrill Street.
Ippolito gave sale price estimates and the projected annual tax each site could provide under certain plans.
The detail of the report was not enough to satisfy Town Meeting member Peter Spellios. He warned that rushing the sale process without exploring every option could cause regret.
"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," Spellios said. "If we get it wrong, there is no taking it back."
Citing a "very soft" residential market, Spellios recommended Town Meeting take no action on the four articles to make sure the town gets the best possible return on the properties.
Members agreed and decided to indefinitely postpone the articles. The town did, however, create a Town Building Oversight Committee that would come up with even more detailed plans for each site and figure out zoning changes that would need to be passed to make the plans happen.
Ippolito said the new committee will report its findings to a Special Town Meeting this fall, tentatively scheduled for Nov. 15. There, the hope is voters will finally decide what to do with the properties.
Ippolito said in a phone interview yesterday that she supports the idea of postponing the articles. She said a more detailed plan that includes zoning amendments and specific development plans keeps the future of each site in the town's hands.
Recommendations and projected value
Greenwood Avenue school
Recommendation: Demolish the building's two renovations, leaving the original 1894 structure. Develop 27 units inside the original building, and build a structure of similar size in the rear.
Value: $1.36 million to $2.9 million*
Annual tax revenue: $176,000 to $280,000*
Temple Israel
r Option A: Demolish the building except the hexagonal "sanctuary," which would house six units. Build an additional 30 units on the site.
Value: $1.36 million to $3.4 million*
Annual tax revenue: $176,000 to $250,000*
r Option B: Demolish the entire building and build a new multifamily structure.
Value: $1.12 million to $3.5 million*
Annual tax revenue: $168,000 to $240,000*
Phillips Beach firehouse
Recommendation: Sell as a one-family home after a gut renovation of the building.
Value: $160,000 to $200,000 (after cost of renovation)
Annual tax revenue: $9,360 to $11,700
* Range depends partly on whether 20 percent of the units are offered as affordable housing.
Source: Town Building Study Committee
