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The Harvard Lawn Fire Station Committee was established on 18 April 2006 by the Board of Selectmen to undertake the process of developing a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the sale and re-use of this surplus Fire Station. The Harvard Lawn Fire Station is located at 85 Fairview Avenue, at the corner with Dalton Street. The fire station site has a lot size of 12,304 square feet, and the building has a total of approximately 5,692 gross square feet. The committee consisted of: Donna Brescia (Vision Implementation Committee); Peg Callanan (Warrant Committee); Charles Gagnon (Precinct 7); Laurie Graham (Precinct 7); Arthur Heron (Belmont Housing Trust); Meg O'Brien (Vision Implementation Committee); James Reynolds (Precinct 7); and, Andrés T. Rojas, Chairman (Belmont Planning Board).
The committee reviewed the prior fire station RFP's prepared by the Town, and held weekly committee meetings to discuss and prioritize the proposed elements of the Harvard Lawn Fire Station RFP. A public meeting was held on the evening of 12 July 2006 at the Chenery Middle School to obtain neighborhood and public input on the fire station's sale and re-use. Based on the committee's research and the results of the public meeting, the committee explored all viable re-use options for the building and site allowed under current zoning. We then developed and prioritized the site specific selection criteria for the evaluation of RFP responses. The finalized RFP was then advertised and posted for maximum exposure to the development community.
On 31 October 2006, three RFP responses or proposals were delivered to the Town. The three respondents and their purchase price proposals were: Chris Starr - $200,000.00; Kaspar & Grace Torosian - $350,000.00; Patrick C. Lundgren - $400,000.00; and, Urbanica - $400,000.00. Among these four submissions, the committee unanimously recommended that Urbanica's bid be selected. Urbanica has had experience with the development of quality fire station re-use projects, has proposed a re-use option that is in tune with key neighborhood goals, and has offered one of the highest financial bids. The Board of Selectmen approved the acceptance of Urbanica's bid for this property.
Based on the Town's inability to reach a timely agreement with Urbanica, the Selectmen decided in mid 2007 to re-bid the property for development. In the interim, a zoning by-law amendment was passed by Town Meeting allowing for the construction of up to 3 units on this site. The revised RFP was altered to include a minimum acceptable purchase price of $550,000.00, reflecting the zoning change and the perceived additional value added to the property. On 15 October 2007 the Town received only one bid for the Fire Station under the terms of the new RFP. The one bid was from Andrew Magdanz and Susan Shapiro (property owners and developers from Cambridge MA), and was for converting the Fire Station into a single-family home for the owners. The purchase price offered was $615,000.00. The existing station building will be preserved and adaptively re-used. The Magdanz-Shapiro team has prior experience in the adaptive re-use of historically sensitive structures for residential
purposes.
Our committee was unanimously in favor of this proposal, and recommended its acceptance to the Board of Selectmen. The single-family use and the preservation of the beautiful fire station building were very responsive to neighborhood goals. The $615,000.00 purchase price was greater than the previous bids and provided more funds to the Town for this important asset. The Selectmen have since approved the sale and the process of selling this unique property is under way. This attractive Fire Station and site will now be re-developed into a unique single-family home that will enhance the neighborhood and the Town.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrés T. Rojas, Chairman
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