SANDWICH – The Sandwich Finance Committee has indicated support for the 128-unit senior housing project proposed for the Henry T. Wing School.
The committee voted 5-0 with one abstention, in favor of the project with committee member Bob Guerin saying that it was a “no-brainer” to do so.
“You do have what I would say is a very responsive development proposal, responsive to the request for proposal that was issued by the town, and a responsible development team that has a proposal that makes some sense for the community,” said Assistant Town Manager Heather Harper.
The vote came after a presentation from vice president of development and acquisitions for Stratford Capital Group, Keith McDonald.
A brief summary of the proposed project was also given by Town Planner Ralph Vitacco.
Stratford, the company that is interested in developing the project, proposed purchasing the property on the Wing school site for $1.3 million.
If purchased, Stratford would proceed to build a $53 million mixed-income development for people over the age of 62.
According to the proposal, the town would keep the athletic fields and most of the parking surrounding the school.
Stratford also requested $2.6 million in community preservation funds to help with demolition costs.
The developer plans take down all the buildings on the property except the historic red brick “1927 Building” which faces Route 130.
Vitacco said that the preservation grant will show the town’s commitment to the project as it would not only pay for the demolition, but it would also help Stratford qualify for state affordable housing tax credits.
The project would provide 128 rental apartments for seniors, most of which would be for low-to-moderate income residents.
Roughly 20 units are expected to be rented at market rates.
The finance committee had asked that several criteria be met when proposals for what to do with the former school came in front of them.
A top priority was that the town not have to pay for demolishing and replacing buildings at the school, which could have costs up to $75 million.
Officials were also pondering ways to get rid of the annual maintenance costs for the former school, which was estimated to be between $200,000 and $400,000, according to Guerin.
Committee member James Pierce was pleased with Stratford’s proposal as it matched up with information the committee had gathered.
Through town surveys, the committee found that 70 percent of respondents wanted to tear down the Wing school except for the 1927 building.
“Surprisingly nearly 70 percent of the respondents said we should tear down all the Wing school or all the Wing school with the exception of the 1927 building,” said Vitacco.
Some members of the community preservation committee objected to using preservation funds for demolition at their recent meeting.
Finance Committee Chairman Mark Snyder brought up those objections and others such as how the preservation money would be bonded, how much in annual property taxes would the final development pay the town, and how successful the project is expected to be, when discussing the Wing school proposal.
Sandwich Finance Director William Jennings said the money would be bonded like any other project that the town has funded and that the interest on future Community Preservation Act earnings would be used to pay off the loan.
Vitacco added that the finished project would pay the town about $128,000 a year in taxes.
Vitacco, along with Harper, urged advisory board members to act quickly on the proposal so that they developer can begin the process of acquiring state tax credits.
Preservation committee members said they wanted to hear from the finance committee first before voting on whether to commit the $2.6 million in community preservation funds.
Finance committee member Laura Wing, who abstained from the vote, said that she did so because she had concerns about such a large development at the downtown site.
The preservation committee is expected to discuss the matter further at its next meeting on Monday, February 3rd.
The town is also considering holding a Special Town Meeting in March to bring Wing school proposals to voters.
Vitacco stated that if Stratford’s proposal is chosen, the work would not begin until 2022 at the earliest.
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