By Keith Regan, Contributing Writer
Westborough—Town Manager Jim Malloy said during the March 22 Board of Selectmen meeting that he is hoping to have a buyer or buyers for the 37 acres of the former Westborough State Hospital set aside for redevelopment by the end of this summer, a time frame that would enable the town to keep more of the proceeds from the sale.
Selectmen voted to disband the Westborough State Hospital Re-Use Committee following affirmative Town Meeting action on its recommendations over the past year and a half. Some members of that committee will likely be tapped to help the town sort through proposals to build on the land set aside for private re-use.
The next step will be for the town to issue a request for proposals from developers interested in the property, laying out the conditions the committee put in place, including updated zoning approved at Town Meeting earlier this month.
Malloy noted that if the town completes the sale of the parts of the property set aside for private redevelopment before Nov. 11 of this year—the two year anniversary of the town’s taking control of the land from the state—the community will keep 60 percent of the profits. After that, the town’s share drops to 55 percent for the next three years. If the property generates $5 million, the town would keep an additional $250,000 by meeting the deadline; on a $10 million sale, the difference would be $500,000.
The state will receive the rest of the proceeds.
The town is still awaiting a final report from the firm conducting a hazardous materials and asbestos survey on the buildings on the land to be sold.
Once an RFP is finalized and issued, which Malloy hopes will happen by early May, Malloy will likely form an informal committee to review and rate proposals and bring recommendations to the selectmen.
