NORTHBOROUGH – The Select Board approved a quitclaim deed for 432 Whitney St. during their July 15 meeting.
According to Town Administrator Tim McInerney, the town has closed on the property and now owns it.
Earlier this year, the Select Board expressed an interest in having the town exercise its right of first refusal to purchase the site, which was owned by Santo Anza. The property, which is 23.77 acres of undeveloped land, had been proposed to be sold to a developer to use for a 40,000- to 60,000-square-foot building for commercial/industrial/warehouse distribution purposes that could be served by a freight rail line connection.
An article went before Town Meeting in April seeking $1.7 million — the same amount the developer was offering for the parcel — in Community Preservation Act funds to purchase the site. Voters ultimately approved the article.
During Town Meeting, Community Preservation Committee Chair John Campbell said that the Department of Conservation and Recreation would be willing to give the town $200,000 toward the conservation of the property and hold the conservation restriction on the parcel.
Since the Town Meeting vote, efforts to purchase the property have moved forward. In May, the board voted to authorize Chair Mitch Cohen to sign documents related to the town exercising its right of first refusal.
Town leaders have said they planned to purchase the land for open space and recreation purposes and to develop a small affordable housing project that could consist of four to eight units.
