Swampscott is looking to bring culture to Burrill Street

SWAMPSCOTT – The Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a permit for the former senior center on Burrill Street to be used as a cultural center, and the town will now begin the process of seeking a group to renovate and use the long-vacant space.”A group could bring to life and use a pretty valuable property that’s sitting vacant,” Town Planner Pete Kane told members of the board of appeals Wednesday.The former center has been vacant since the construction of the new high school and attached senior center in 2007. The permit to use the building as a community center subsequently expired as the town tried to figure out what to do with the building.In February, Kane and members of the Planning Board held a public forum to discuss the future of the town’s vacant buildings – the senior center, the old police station, and the Greenwood Avenue and Machon schools – and how each could be reused.Attendees recommended the town keep the senior center, but lease it out to a cultural or arts organization that would renovate and maintain the structure.To have that happen, however, the town must issue a request for proposal (RFP) for the building. Kane told board of appeals members that cultural organizations would be more likely to respond and submit a proposal for the site if they knew that the building was allowed to host cultural activities.Kane said that the RFP would require the tenant to make any property improvements or building improvements before they could use the space. The only work the town would have to do is to make sure the building was brought up to code and was handicap accessible.Appeals board member Harry Pass wondered if there would be enough parking at the building – which Kane said had six parking spots. But Kane noted the building was nearby the municipal parking lot at Town Hall. Plus, street parking that had previously been restricted for police cruisers was available now that the police station had been moved to Humphrey Street.The board voted unanimously to issue a permit allowing the property’s use as a cultural center, provided the tenant is using the building for such an activity.Town Administrator Tom Younger said Friday that he hoped an RFP would be issued within the next couple of months.