Nahant to review housing proposals

NAHANT – The town received three responses to its Request for Proposals (RFP) for the former Coast Guard Housing property, all of which Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said look promising.”At first glance all three appear very good and appear to be responsive to the RFP,” he said. “They appear to all meet the general criteria. All three met or exceed the minimum price.”Cullinan said proposals were submitted by Mercer Properties Inc.; Stockard Engler Brigham, LCC and Bass Point Residences, LLCIn April, Town Meeting authorized the town to issue the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the former military housing site. According to the RFP, the town reserves the right to select any development proposal as long as the offered price meets the minimum requirement of $2.1 million. The RFP calls for re-development proposals that include eight single-family homes with a minimum lot size of 4,500 square feet per home in the vicinity of Castle/Gardner Road. It specifies no more than 20 multi-family homes could be built in the Goddard Drive area. Cullinan said the RFP specifies the homes in the Goddard Drive area, which is adjacent to Kelley Greens Golf Course and Bailey’s Hill, should consist of multi-family homes designed to blend in with the neighborhood in terms of design and scale.Cullinan said the RFP stipulates the Castle/Gardner Road area should consist of detached single-family homes so the development would blend into the existing neighborhood. Cullinan said some of the units would be affordable housing.Cullinan, who is an ex officio member of the Military Housing Committee, said the committee would initially examine all three proposals to ensure the minimum requirements are met.After determining whether the proposals meet the criteria set forth by the RFP the Military Housing Committee would develop a schedule for evaluating the proposals.Cullinan said the Military Housing Committee would select the proposals that would be presented at a public information session, which would be scheduled for sometime in September.Cullinan said after the public information session, the Military Housing Committee would make a recommendation to the Board of Selectmen. Cullinan said he expects the Board of Selectmen to call a special Town Meeting for sometime in October or November regarding the final disposition of the property.