The Town of Lynnfield held an open house last Wednesday on the lot that was, until recently, the temporary home of the Fire Department Headquarters (FDHQ). The Fire Department is taking possession of its new building this week, and the Town has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to purchase the lot.
The lot is the subject of a warrant article to rezone the space to a Limited Business (LB) district, which will be up for a vote at Town Meeting on Oct. 27. A separate warrant article is also up for vote at Town Meeting, which would actually authorize the Town to sell the property.
Currently, the property is zoned Single Residence A (RA), but the lot is not large enough to build a dwelling on, under the rules of the RA zoning district regulations, according to the table of regulations in Lynnfield Code Ch. 260 Sec. 4.1.2.
The RFP allows for proposers to submit bids in the case the lot remains zoned RA, in the case that it is rezoned to LB, or to submit a bid for both cases. In a letter published on the Town website, R. Boly Associates appraised the property at $454,000 if it remains zoned RA, but that increases to $480,000 if it is rezoned to LB.
At the Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 26, where the warrant articles were discussed, an audience member spoke for the owner of the adjacent LB-zoned property, inquired about the bidding process, and expressed support for rezoning. He suggested that their tenant businesses — which include a child care center and doctor’s offices — would benefit if the lot was rezoned because, if they acquired, it would allow them to put in more parking space.
Currently on the lot, there is a small parking lot and the temporary FDHQ structure, which was formerly the South Branch of the Lynnfield Public Library. This structure has three main rooms, a bathroom, and a small basement containing a water heater and storage space.
Anyone wishing to submit a bid proposal must also submit a deposit in check form, payable to “Town of Lynnfield or [Name of Proposer]” in the amount of 5% of their bid amount. If they are submitting a proposal with bids for both the as-is and rezoning cases, the deposit should be 5% of the larger bid. Deposits will be returned if the sale is not authorized at Town Meeting and to unsuccessful proposers once the Town enters into a contract with the successful proposer, if the sale is authorized.
