Residents want to stay in Nahant Coast Guard homes

NAHANT – One of the first tenants to move into the former Coast Guard housing wants to stay.Joanne Luti, a third-generation Nahanter, moved into one of the homes when it was first rented out five years ago.?I love it here,” she said. “I grew up in Nahant and have family here. My whole family is in town and I want to stay here.”Luti, who has Stage 4 lung cancer, lives in the cozy three-bedroom home with her three children, who range in age from 10 to 21. Luti said the town has been a good landlord and The Hall Company Inc. has done a good job managing the property.?I have no complaints,” she said. “But if the town sells the home I want first dibs to buy it. I’d love to stay here.”As town officials are preparing to take a look at options for the former Coast Guard housing property several current residents said they would love to stay put.Malden native Lauren Barton, who moved to one of the homes on Castle Road in June 2010, also said she would love the opportunity to buy the home she is currently renting.?I signed a one-year lease,” she said. “I like it here very much. It’s a great area I hope the town decides to sell the houses individually instead of selling to a developer. I think some of us are in a position to get mortgages and would probably buy.”Just down the street, Karen Dailey was still unpacking boxes and settling into one of the other former Coast Guard houses.?I love Nahant,” Dailey said. “I just moved in last Friday. I moved from Everett but I lived in Nahant before. Nahant is one of those places where there’s not a lot of available rental housing so when I heard there was space available I said ?Oh my God, I’m in.’ My husband is in the U.S. Army and I think he likes the military connection.”The parcel the single-family homes are located on was purchased from the federal government for $2.1 million in January 2005.Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said the selectmen hoped to sell the property almost immediately after purchasing it, but it wasn’t possible. The General Services Administration, the agency that disposes of surplus government property, put a clause in the purchase agreement stating if it was sold within three years after acquiring it any profit from the sale would have to be turned over to the government.Because of the clause, the selectmen decided to keep the property for three years.The Hall Company Inc. rents out the 12 single-family homes and manages the property for the town.At the Board of Selectmen meeting Thursday evening, the selectmen agreed to continue leasing the homes for at least the next two years to allow the real estate market to rebound before moving forward with disposing of the property.Cullinan said there are three options that could be exercised down the road. The Request for Proposals that Town Meeting approved could be reissued; go back to Town Meeting to develop an alternative plan for the site; or it could continue to rent out the 12 single-family homes.A RFP was issued in 2008 that called for eight single-family homes with a minimum lot size of 4,500 square feet per home in the vicinity of Castle and Gardner roads and no more than 20 multi-family homes in the Goddard Drive area.Bass Point Residences LLC, which is owned by Phillip Singleton and Jeffrey Gouchberg, was selected for the project, but in June 2009 the company withdrew its $2.2 million offer to the town.?The plan Town Meeting voted on best meets the diverse housing needs of the town,” Cullinan said. “It addresses the zoning and architectural issues in the neighborhood. I am leanings towards recommending the town reissue the RFP that was approved by Town Meeting.”Despite the setback in the development of the property, Cullinan said it would not affect the town financially in the short term. Cullinan said the revenue from the rentals exceeds the payments on the property.?We are carrying this as short-term debt so we are paying interest only on the loan,” Cullinan said. “Because it is a short term loan the princi