Swampscott seeks proposals for train station tenants

SWAMPSCOTT – Town officials have issued a request for proposals from businesses interested in occupying the Swampscott Train Station in response to inquiries about the building, according to Town Administrator Andrew Maylor.”We heard some whispering and our process a couple of years ago didn’t bear out,” Maylor said Wednesday afternoon.The train station, which is located on Railroad Avenue off of Burrill Street, dates back to 1872 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, according to Angela Ippolito of the Swampscott Historical Commission.The building is owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), but the town entered a 10-year lease in 2005 that gives it the ability to sublet the building, according to the RFP.The lease can be extended for two five-year periods.However, the train station needs “a complete head-to-toe renovation,” said Ippolito.She said that the last major effort to maintain the building was done around 2000 and focused on exterior, cosmetic changes.”It’s in terrible condition – there’s nothing there ? there’s no gas, no plumbing, no electricity,” she said. “We have had several people interested in the years, but the scope of work that needs to be done is daunting. But historical buildings typically don’t fare well at all if they sit empty,” Ippolito said.Maylor said Wednesday that the town would make certain concessions in terms of rent to entice a tenant to renovate the property.Ippolito said that previous proposals – this is the third time that the RFP was issued – included a photographer’s studio or a business that catered to commuters.She said that any business would probably not have a lot of parking as the lot is owned by the MBTA and receives heavy use from commuters.Selectman Barry Greenfield described the station as one of the “jewels of this town,” in discussing whether to rescind a previous board’s vote to charge for parking near the station.”It’s one reason people live in this town,” Greenfield said. “There is an enormous opportunity to develop it and rezone the area.”Selectman Richard Malagrifa agreed with Greenfield. But Maylor told the selectmen – and reiterated Wednesday – that the station was “also in a residential neighborhood.””I think we always have to balance that it sits inside a dense, residential neighborhood,” he told selectmen.