Swampscott MBTA building still receives zero attention

SWAMPSCOTT – Almost three years after the town signed a new five-year lease with the MBTA for the train station, the building remains vacant and neglected.Town Administrator Andrew Maylor said the town leased the station from the MBTA for five years with a five-year renewal option at $1 per year and the town is required to maintain the building. The lease allows the town to sublet space in the depot with prior approval of the MBTA.Department of Public Works Director Gino Cresta said the utilities to the train depot have been shut off at the street so the town is not paying to mothball the facility.”Other than the occasional vandalism call,” he said, “there really is no maintenance involved.”Maylor said the town has leased the building for years in an attempt to protect it.”We don’t know what the MBTA would do with it,” he said. “It’s possible the MBTA would tear it down and it’s something we’d like preserved.”In 2005 the town issued a Request For Proposals for the reuse of the historic train depot. That RFP specified the reuse would have to meet minimum criteria for interior renovations and routine maintenance. Lisa Faia submitted the only response to the RFP and in it she proposed using the train depot for a dance studio. In January 2006, she withdrew her proposal shortly after the town approved it.Selectman Marc Paster said the property has been sitting idle for too long and it’s something the town needs to address sooner rather than later.”My preference would be for the town to find a way to use the property,” he said. “The train station has not come up in discussions since the proposal was withdrawn and it is something we need to discuss.”Maylor was quick to add there was not as much interest in reuse of the depot as town officials had hoped.”It’s an awkward facility for reuse,” he said.