HUDSON – Hudson is not going to pursue acquiring the Bruen Road property, where there are duplexes that were used by the Department of Defense United States Army Garrison for family housing.
Since the duplexes are no longer being used by the garrison, they have fallen into disrepair, former Fire Chief Bryan Johannes told the Select Board on Feb. 27, 2023. At that meeting, the Select Board signed a memorandum of understanding with the garrison to provide emergency services to the area.
There was no vote required regarding the property at the Select Board’s July 29 meeting, but Director of Planning and Community Development Kristina Johnson explained what is happening with it.
As the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been in the process of disposing of the Bruen Road property, an invitation to bid on 42 acres of the 86-acre lot was received by Hudson.
“The army had indicated to [Executive Assistant Tom Gregory] and myself that they were planning to do this last year. They had to get congressional authorization,” she said.
With this property, there is no right of first refusal for the town, meaning that it does not have the contractual right to enter into a transaction with regard to the lot. However, with the bid invitation, she said her office had been contacted by affordable housing advocates urging the town to acquire the property.
“There’s a lot of issues that come with acquiring a federal property, especially one occupied by the military, mainly contamination,” said Johnson.
The property is governed by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, so there would be assumed liability for whomever has the land title. In addition, there are zoning and buildable lot issues.
She noted that any bidder would also have to present $100,000 upfront, and the town, under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 30B, cannot pay more than an appraised value for a property. An appraisal would be needed, much like with the Hudson armory, which is in the process of being turned into an arts center.
“The army is looking to make fair market value off of this. They’re not interested in partnering with us,” said Johnson.
The other issue, she said, was that there would be a limited opportunity to do an environmental assessment, a step the town would want to do to understand the possible contamination issues. She noted in a June 6 memo that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers indicated an environmental cleanup is “almost completed.”
However, she said she has not seen the environmental reports as a part of the bid invitation.
“It’s my recommendation as the planning director that the town pass on this opportunity. I know that we need affordable housing, and it’s very important, but the town does not have the capacity, in my opinion, to carry this out,” said Johnson.
She pointed to the fact the town did not have the cash on hand upfront to even consider a bid.
As for the Bruen Road property’s future, she said that it is classified for pre-existing non-conforming use “so a developer could come in and expand the multifamily townhouses” or even renovate the housing structures. A friendly 40B could also be a possibility, but “that is a conversation to have further down the road,” according to Johnson.
Hudson is over the 10% threshold for affordable housing, she said. It would not have to accept a 40B, if one was proposed.
It took months to handle the armory project, she said, and in this case, they would only have until the end of August to deal with the Bruen Road property.
Johnson said, “I just don’t see it happening.”
Select Board Chair Scott Duplisea said he could see the difficulties in handling the property as it is not state owned, although he believed housing and athletic uses would be ideal there. He also noted that the access to the parcel is in Stow, while the property itself is in Hudson.
He said, “Any developer that is going to be interested in that spot. It’s not just going to be your average developer. They’re going to have to know a lot of the federal requirements.”
Select Board member Steven Sharek said to Johnson, “I just 100% agree with your analysis. This is not a go as far as I’m concerned.”
Johnson gave a brief update in the Intel property at 75 Reed Road, which is the former Intel property. She said there is not any change in the property’s status since it was acquired by National Development in November 2023, but that the developer is “casting their net out there to see what the economy can support for industrial uses.”
Keeping it zoned as industrial is what she recommended to the Finance Committee, as it would generate higher tax revenue for the town.
