NAHANT — Nahant’s Board of Selectmen is fighting back at claims made by Northeastern University, which say the town’s motion to enact eminent domain over East Point could cost taxpayers millions.
During a board meeting Thursday, the selectmen described Northeastern’s assertion as “scary talk,” saying claims made last week by the school included “inaccurate and unsubstantiated” statements about legal costs associated with the proposal.
“The Board of Selectmen has produced and provided to the public written reports on all the costs associated with eminent domain,” said Chair Joshua Antrim. “Northeastern has not offered a single expert opinion to substantiate its claims of dire financial consequences.”
Expansion plans at the university’s East Point property — which was granted to the school by the federal government in 1966 — were first announced in 2018 and have since been adamantly opposed by many Nahant residents, who say their small island town and local wildlife will be damaged by the proposed development. Northeastern’s proposal includes a two-to-three-story, 55,000-square-foot building atop Murphy Battery, two parking areas, and an expanded seawater intake system.
In April, the selectmen voted (3-0) to place an article on the annual Town Meeting warrant that, if passed, would allow Nahant to enact eminent domain over East Point and declare the property as a wildlife preserve, thus protecting it from future development.
Last week, Northeastern responded to the board’s motion by hosting a virtual information session, during which Ralph Martin, senior vice president and general counsel at Northeastern, said that if the town were to seek to enact eminent domain but ultimately choose to abandon the effort due to high costs, the financial burden to taxpayers could be far higher than the $35 per household per year originally cited by the board.
“If the town walks away from the taking, it will owe Northeastern the damages Northeastern will suffer from delaying its expansion project,” Martin said. “In a litigation process the selectmen themselves say will last two to three years, the delayed damages will be substantial — in the range of $6-9 million.”
Martin also noted the town would have to compensate Northeastern for the cost of the project, which he estimated to be $250,000 per month.
However, Nahant’s selectmen rejected Martin’s statements, arguing that it was unclear where Northeastern’s numbers came from.
“We hired a professional with 40 years of experience in their field who spent months putting together an appraisal on this property so we have an accurate assessment on the value of that real estate in the event of an eminent domain taking,” Antrim told The Item Tuesday. “We’ve published that report, and this professional knows he’ll likely have to defend his appraisal in court. He’s not just making up a lowball number.”
He later added: “Show me a single eminent domain case in history in which construction delays were included in the damages.”
In response to Antrim’s comments, Northeastern University spokesman Michael Ferrari argued that the East Point land is, in fact, more valuable than the town’s estimates.
“Northeastern’s property is not undevelopable conservation land — therefore it is worth several times more than the selectmen’s $2 million lowball estimate,” Ferrari said. “Further, the law is clear that, if the town starts an eminent domain proceeding that it later abandons, it must provide indemnity in full for any damage, loss, or expense incurred by Northeastern, including $250,000-per-month cost of construction delays.
“The fact that the Nahant Advisory and Finance Committee — the town’s independent fiscal watchdog — refused to endorse the selectmen’s scheme speaks volumes.”
Residents will vote on whether or not the selectmen should enact eminent domain during the annual Town Meeting scheduled to take place May 15.
“The Northeastern people … are highly-paid employees fighting hard for the billion-dollar corporation that employs them,” Antrim said. “They have no stake in Nahant. They don’t live here, they don’t pay taxes here. They’re just employees trying to do a good job for their employer. Northeastern will develop this natural resource land unless we act to save it.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
