SWAMPSCOTT — The town’s 1937-built police station has been vacant since 2013, when the Police Department moved to Humphrey Street, but the building could be resurrected as a food pantry, a space for the Historical Commission, a private business, or something else.
The town sent out a request for interest (RFI) for the old town-owned building at 86 Burrill St. in January, with Marzie Galazka, director of community and economic development, reporting there have been five responses for use, from the Swampscott Historical Commission, Arsenal Consulting, Breen Construction Services LLC, Anchor Food Pantry, and Big Blue Bargains.
“Our goal was not only to look at what would be the best uses, but to look at something that would also enhance the Burrill Street neighborhood,” Galazka said.
According to Galazka, the Historical Commission seeks to use the building in a partnership with the Swampscott Public Library to “offer coworking space, meeting space, and possibly a historical museum,” in addition to space for town historical archives and rentable space for the public. If the site were used by the Historical Commission, the town would retain ownership of the building, keeping its ambulance space, and the Historical Commission would renovate the building, add an elevator, and create more office space. No specific payment has been discussed for this option.
Arsenal Consulting, based in Chelsea, wants to use the building for office space. The digital forensics consulting firm could use part of the building or the entire building, and possibly would use some of the space to lease to other technology firms. The firm also offered free law enforcement training or local internships in digital forensics, but has not discussed possible terms or payment with the town.
Breen Construction Services LLC proposes to use the building as office space and a woodworking shop. The company looks to use the first and second floors of the building — not the basement — and is open to sharing space. Again, payment has not been discussed, but the company would sign a lease agreement to maintain and preserve the building.
Anchor Food Pantry, which started operations this year, is looking for permanent space for storage, display, and client services, and would like to use the building’s first floor and storage closet, sharing the rest of the building. The building would be altered with more shelving and freezer space for food storage, and space for client intake on the first floor. The food pantry has not discussed payment, but would cover all of its own operation and maintenance costs.
Big Blue Bargains previously was a thrift store attached to the Swampscott Middle School that used its proceeds to fund school projects not funded by the regular school budget. The thrift shop seeks to reopen with the option to sell coffee and refreshments and host events in addition to the store. Big Blue Bargains would remove most doors inside the first floor area, renovate the first floor bathroom, and make the building more accessible. Big Blue Bargains is looking to sign a 10- to 20-year lease for $1 a year. The Big Blue Bargains operation started in 2012, and it has since raised more than $150,000 for Swampscott schools.
Select Board member Don Hause said, while he is not against using town buildings to generate revenue, he is in “strong favor” of usage that would expand services, mentioning the Historical Commission and food pantry proposals as two he would support.
New Select Board member Neal Duffy said he agrees with Hause, but would like to see if two of the proposals could be combined, and Big Blue Bargains and Anchor Food Pantry could potentially “cohabitate” the building.
Select Board Chairman Peter Spellios suggested the members of the Select Board tour the building in order to come to decisions about “what space is good use for what.” Spellios also recognized most of the board members preferred “community use” for the building, and suggested a request for proposals (RFP) be put out next month specifying the need for “community use” in the building to narrow down the proposals.
