Published January 17, 2019
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — The town has withdrawn its offer to purchase the former New England Spring Water property at 217 Main St. for $3.5M
The announcement was made at Monday night’s Select Board meeting by Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto just about a day and half prior to the deadline for the town to sign the purchase and sales agreement.
The change in direction came about as a result of the review process town departments and board members had undertaken to determine if this investment would indeed be worth a big chunk of the town’s available capital. It was initially believed that the 36,000 square feet of garage space would easily house the town’s large fire apparatus and larger DPW vehicles. The 2.88 acre site also had potential for office space and a secondary egress.
But the extent to which the property would need to be retrofitting to suit the town’s needs for its “rolling fleets” was not known when the initial offer was made and making this determination was deemed paramount before proceeding to the next step of signing a purchase and sales agreement and holding public forums prior to a special town meeting in early April. None of that will necessary now.
“Since the acceptance of the town’s conditional offer to purchase 217 Main Street in December, the town, through its Department of Public Works, has been further investigating the possible use of this property for municipal purposes, including as a Fire Station,” Gilleberto said.
“This investigation included a review of the property by an outside engineering firm. While the engineering firm has identified that the property appears to be in good condition and to have been well-maintained, a closer review of the building by the firm’s architect has revealed that the property does not meet the classification level required for it to be used as a fire station or public works facility,” Gilleberto said.
He added, “The building is believed to be suitable for other categories of use, presumably including its former use as a water bottling and distribution facility. An initial review indicates that upgrading the building classification to the level required for use as a Fire Station or public works facility would be cost prohibitive. Therefore, the town will not be pursuing this real estate acquisition further.”
“We thank the sellers and their agents for their efforts and assistance throughout this process, and wish them well in identifying the right buyer and the right use for the property.” The T.A. concluded.
A motion was then made for the town to “withdraw its previous conditional offer and that the town not enter into a purchase and sale agreement for 217 Main Street.”
It passed 4-0 with Select Board Chairman Mike Prisco and Select Board members Kate Manupelli, Bob Mauceri and Stephen O’Leary voting in favor of withdrawing the offer. Board member Andrew Schultz was absent.
