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It could require the dawning of the age of Aquarius. You know – planets aligning, peace and harmony, and love steering the stars. But will that kind of unity and consensus happen with the 1820 Courthouse?
Planning Board Chairman Marc Garrett says he just doesn’t know.
What he does know is that the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority has generated some valid points and what appear to be good ideas. But getting the town to buy in is a whole other matter.
Plymouth Redevelopment Authority Chairman Dean Rizzo appeared before the Planning Board Wednesday night with an update on the Courthouse project and some suggestions about what to do next. Planning Board members seemed receptive to these recommendations, but noted that nothing short of total consensus will be required to move them forward – consensus from some currently unreceptive entities.
With in-house assistance and a matching state grant, Rizzo said, the town could complete an 1820 Courthouse and corridor study that would result in a request for proposals that would attract developers. The price for this study and RFP? Between $50,000 and $100,000. Without that study and the RFP it generates, Rizzo and other town officials concur that no developer would even consider the project.
Research and outreach to developers has confirmed that including the corridor in the 1820 Courthouse development is essential to attract any bids on the project, Rizzo said. Without that corridor, the town can forget about its hope for a partnership with a private developer.
But, last year, selectmen pulled the PRA’s request that Town Meeting spend $200,000 for a corridor study. Town Meeting never considered the plan because it never appeared on the warrant. It remains to be seen whether assistance from the Planning Board and an educational outreach effort would change the selectmen’s minds.
Rizzo requested the board support a plan for a corridor study that would include town properties located behind the actual courthouse corridor as we know it, such as the parking lot abutting Burial Hill and town-owned lots to the rear of a small residential cluster. Yes, the corridor Rizzo refers to has changed to include private property, meaning these owners would have to sign on to whatever plan the town decides is best.
Failing that, Rizzo suggested the town could siphon $2 million in Community Preservation Act funds toward essential renovations to the 1820 Courthouse so that it can be used for a revenue-generating purpose.
He said the PRA is applying for National Historic Trust listing for the Courthouse and is also seeking National Park district designation for the downtown.
It could require the dawning of the age of Aquarius. You know – planets aligning, peace and harmony, and love steering the stars. But will that kind of unity and consensus happen with the 1820 Courthouse?
Planning Board Chairman Marc Garrett says he just doesn’t know.
What he does know is that the Plymouth Redevelopment Authority has generated some valid points and what appear to be good ideas. But getting the town to buy in is a whole other matter.
Plymouth Redevelopment Authority Chairman Dean Rizzo appeared before the Planning Board Wednesday night with an update on the Courthouse project and some suggestions about what to do next. Planning Board members seemed receptive to these recommendations, but noted that nothing short of total consensus will be required to move them forward – consensus from some currently unreceptive entities.
With in-house assistance and a matching state grant, Rizzo said, the town could complete an 1820 Courthouse and corridor study that would result in a request for proposals that would attract developers. The price for this study and RFP? Between $50,000 and $100,000. Without that study and the RFP it generates, Rizzo and other town officials concur that no developer would even consider the project.
Research and outreach to developers has confirmed that including the corridor in the 1820 Courthouse development is essential to attract any bids on the project, Rizzo said. Without that corridor, the town can forget about its hope for a partnership with a private developer.
But, last year, selectmen pulled the PRA’s request that Town Meeting spend $200,000 for a corridor study. Town Meeting never considered the plan because it never appeared on the warrant. It remains to be seen whether assistance from the Planning Board and an educational outreach effort would change the selectmen’s minds.
Rizzo requested the board support a plan for a corridor study that would include town properties located behind the actual courthouse corridor as we know it, such as the parking lot abutting Burial Hill and town-owned lots to the rear of a small residential cluster. Yes, the corridor Rizzo refers to has changed to include private property, meaning these owners would have to sign on to whatever plan the town decides is best.
Failing that, Rizzo suggested the town could siphon $2 million in Community Preservation Act funds toward essential renovations to the 1820 Courthouse so that it can be used for a revenue-generating purpose.
He said the PRA is applying for National Historic Trust listing for the Courthouse and is also seeking National Park district designation for the downtown.
A selectman’s suggestion that the town simply sell the Courthouse to the highest bidder is not sensible, Planning Board member Bill Wennerberg said. Not only is the Courthouse an important and historic landmark, Wennerberg said, the town would have to sell the building for an outrageously low price, like $120,000, to make it worthwhile to any developer. It would be extremely costly to renovate the building and bring it up to code for use as apartments or retail, he added. And tearing it down for new construction would be a hefty expense, as well.
Wennerberg asked if gutting the 1820 Courthouse, while leaving the historic courtroom intact, would be the most cost-effective solution to attract a developer who would then have a blank slate from which to start.
“If I’m a developer, I don’t want to sit down and talk until there’s a zoning overlay for that whole corridor,” he added. No one will touch the site unless town hurdles like zoning are cleared ahead of time, he added; developers are well aware that waiting for the town to approve a major change like this is too costly and time consuming.
“There are rich people who are old that will be dead by the time it starts,” he added. “By then the building will fall over.”
Planning Board and Courthouse Consortium member Larry Rosenblum agreed.
“The goal is to come up with a zoning overlay,” he said. “All the major developments in town went through the master planning process that made the redevelopment more attractive than it would have been under the existing zoning. But it cannot be done without support from the Planning Board and the entire town.”
He said no developer would even touch such the project if all the pertinent town boards and Town Meeting precincts aren’t supportive of it.
Spending $2 million to renovate the 1820 Courthouse for interim use doesn’t seem wise because later on, when a developer steps forward, all those renovations may have to be yanked to make way for the end project, Planning Board member Tim Grandy said.
“If you’re going to look at this, you need to look at all four parcels,” he added, referencing the corridor. But it’s also not wise to invest money in a corridor study and RFP if the town is going to continue to try to sell the old police station, which is part of the corridor in question.
“We have to ask them to stop that process,” Rizzo said.
They have to do a whole lot more than that, according to Garrett, who said he finds it ironic that the PRA waited two years before requesting the Planning Board’s involvement. While he supports the corridor approach to the project and the study, he noted that some selectmen, town officials and residents do not support it. Not only does the redevelopment of the corridor require support of town boards, Garrett noted, Town Meeting needs to be won over as well, precinct by precinct.
Zoning changes require a two-thirds vote of Town Meeting, which will jump to 135 members with the additional 15th precinct, and support for spending CPA funds would take a majority vote.
“That zoning overlay doesn’t get done until it’s passed the Board of Selectmen and everyone else,” he added. “I’m pretty well certain there is not the degree of support to talk about the things we’ve talked about. That idea has to be sold. If you can’t sell it, there ain’t no project.”
And time is running out, Garrett said; the PRA has to move and move quickly to garner support for its plan, or town officials may just take action of their own.
The board agreed to continue the meeting to a date and time when all its members and the director of planning and development can be present. Abutters to the project ought to be notified, Garrett said, and Wennerberg suggested inviting the Board of Selectmen to the meeting as well.
