By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT—The Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Wednesday to narrow down future use for the closed Machon School to three concepts – residential/housing, educational or community reuse.
The vote gives town officials approval to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking detailed ideas for the three reuse possibilities. Tentative plans call for a proposed use for Machon to be voted on at the annual town meeting in May 2016.
Selectmen agreed on issuing the RFP in January. It will include certain requirements for what guidelines responders to the RFP should adhere to and certain aspects that the board would have a preference for if presented to them.
Town Planner Peter Kane said proposals would have to meet all of the town’s dimensional and zoning requirements, including factors such as setback, building height and lot coverage. Another requirement for proposals is that all parking needs must be met on site.
Access to the Jackson Park on the northwest corner of the property is the third requirement.
Kane said the board also decided to award more points or give certain preference to proposals that met certain criteria. He said more preference would be given to projects that incorporate affordability, such as an affordable housing proposal. With housing, preference would be given to housing with an age restriction of 55 and older.
More points would also be awarded to projects that reuse the original building that was built in 1920. The board is also amenable to destruction of the single story addition built onto the north side of the building in 1963, Kane said.
Preference will also be given to proposals for a ground lease for 99 years of the property utilizing the upfront payment structure. Proposals that retain the green space, or open space, on the east side of the property as permeable without structures or parking would also be awarded more points by the board, Kane said.
Five concepts for the potential reuse of the Machon School property were presented in November, in response to a Request for Interest, Ideas and Innovation (RFI) the town had previously issued. Those concepts leaned heavily toward senior housing.
The concept authors included B’Nai B’rith Housing, The Caleb Group and New Seasons Development for affordable senior housing, Hudson Group North American and Eagle Development Partners for a mixed residential and commercial use and Swampscott residents Ariane Purdy and Jaren Landen for a privately operated educational and community center.
Kane said those concepts could be flushed out more and presented as more in depth proposals in response to the RFP. However, he said there could be different proposals than the five concepts already presented, as often developers don’t want to spend the time responding to an RFI and instead will respond to an RFP with their proposals.
An issue that has been brought up at past forums and meetings regarding the Machon School property has been open space and it was discussed again Wednesday night.
Ruth Hendrickson, a Swampscott resident, would like to see an open space use of the property, rather than development. She has previously voiced her opinion at past forums and said she wanted to “reiterate that we shouldn’t let go of this land quite yet.” She said there is not much buildable land in Swampscott and the building can be demolished and made into parkland.
“We would really be hurting ourselves in the long run to lose this one acre of land,” Hendrickson said.
Myron Stone, a Swampscott resident, said he disagreed with open space as the answer and is instead for affordable senior housing.
“Swampscott has a dire need for senior affordable housing and I don’t think we need any more parks,” Stone said.
Open space was considered by the board as a potential reuse of the property before the vote to issue the RFP. Board member John Callahan said he was for open space, as it is the option he sees as most preferable to residents, and at one point in the discussion made a motion to convert the Machon School property to open space.
His motion was seconded by Laura Spathanas, vice-chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen. The motion was defeated with opposition from board chairwoman Naomi Dreeben, and board members Matthew Strauss and Peter Spellios.
Dreeben said the town has looked into an open space option for the property and it has been determined that demolishing the building would also require asbestos abatement while it’s taken down, and would cost upwards of $600,000.
Spellios said he was uncomfortable with voting on a $600,000 price tag and saw a con in the open space option not contributing any ongoing revenue to the town.
