Swampscott sells former fire station for $185G

SWAMPSCOTT – The former Phillips Beach Fire Station has been sold for $185,000 to residents Steven and Lisa Hayes of 15 Oak Road, who will use the property as a single-family home.The town issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the property this spring and the only other proposal submitted was by Firefighter Eddie Seligman, who bid approximately 20 percent less than the Hayes.Selectman Jill Sullivan, who has been on the Town Building Oversight Committee since its inception, said she is pleased with the response to the fire station RFP.”We’re thrilled with the proposal,” she said. “It was nice to get interest from two highly qualified people.”The former fire station at 2 Phillips Ave. is only one of three town-owned properties that have been on the market.The Town Building Oversight Committee is charged with evaluating proposals and making recommendations to the selectmen, who have the final say on the sale of the property.At the recommendation of the committee, the selectmen did not move forward with the sale of the former Temple Israel, 837 Humphrey St., this week. Committee Chairman Martin Grasso said the two bidders were GVW Inc. of East Boston and the Hawthorne Partnership. He said both responses for the former temple site were for senior living complexes, but neither included enough detail about the projects for the committee to make an informed decision.”There are numerous categories of senior living facilities from total care to condominiums,” Grasso said. “Given the complexity of these types of projects, we felt we needed them to come back to us as a committee and answer some very specific questions.”Grasso said the committee has asked both respondents to submit additional information including proposed costs, the type of senior facility and whether units would be for sale or rent.He said he expects a meeting would be held within the next couple of months and the process would move forward as expeditiously as possible.The third property for sale is the former middle school on Greenwood Avenue. Responses to the Request for Proposals for that property are due July 14.The former senior center on Burrill Street is also vacant and has been declared surplus but it is not for sale at this time because there are possible deed restrictions that need to be ironed out.