Selectmen Select Highest Bids for Town Properties

chose bidders for town properties who offered the most money and the most tax revenue.

Several selectmen said they hear the same refrain from residents: taxes are too high and the town needs more revenue.

The board voted unanimously Wednesday to accept a $625,000 bid from Groom Construction of Salem to build 41 housing units in the former Middle School on Greenwood Avenue.

Owner Tom Groom will tear down the school and build either condominium or rental units in the multi-story structure.

The other proposal for the building, from Stratford Capital, was to build affordable housing for residents over 55 years old.

Stratford proposed paying $500,000 for the property and keeping most of the school in tact.

Martin Grasso of the town Building Oversight Committee said the panel recommended either of the proposals to selectmen. The committee had no preference.

The main difference was the estimated taxes that the projects would generate each year, he said.

The Groom proposal would bring in $157,000; and the Stratford proposal $26,000, Grasso said.

Audience members who spoke either supported the Groom proposal for fiscal reasons or the Stratford proposal for preservation reasons.

Selectmen also accepted a $2.2 million bid for the former Temple Israel property on Humphrey Street.

Charing Cross Realty Trust proposes tearing down the building and constructing 19 single-family units on 4,000- to 5,000-square-foot lots.

The three-bedroom homes would sell for about $499,000, said the realty trust's representative, Phil Singleton.

The project will need zoning relief.

The town administrator estimated a 12-month permitting process.

Singleton estimated it will take two years to build all the units.

The Building Oversight panel recommended the Charing Cross project over a bid from B'nai B'rith to build affordable senior housing.

The B'nai B'rith proposal had a net value of $1.2 million to the town.

The Charing proposal will bring in an estimated $157,000 annually in tax revenues, while the B'nai B'rith proposal would have brought in about $115,000.

Charles Donoghue, who lives in the neighborhood of the former temple, objected to either proposal.

He said the town made a mistake when it bought the property, then it failed to find a public use for it and it has resorted to spot zoning to find a use that is inappropriate for the neighborhood.

Board Chairman Matt Strauss said residents have wanted selectmen to find buyers for these properties to bring in money to town coffers.

"This situation has been hanging around the town's neck for quite a while," he said.

The town paid $3.26 million for the temple.

Last year selectmen voted down a bid of $400,000 for the former middle school and a bid of $1.2 million for the former temple.