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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-07-15 ad Hoc - Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee MinutesPearl Street School Evaluation Committee Meeting minutes for Thursday, July 15, 1993. The meeting was held at 7:30 pm in the Arnold Berger Meeting Room. Committee members: Susan R. Block 56 Pearl Street 942-8709 Matthew Cummings 1243 Main Street 944-1787 John C. Flynn, III 49 Locust Street 944-6871 William E. Goodrich, Chairman 38 Terrace Park 944-8961 Marc Guyott, Secretary 23 Briarwood Avenue 944-7617 Eugene Nigro 64 County Road 944-5233 David Nugent 511 Pearl Street 944-7046 John B. Pacino 3 Copeland Avenue 944-3984 Arthur J. Reynolds 33 Hillside Road 944-0635 Attending committee members: Susan Block Matthew Cummings John Flynn William E. Goodrich Marc Guyott Eugene R. Nigro John B. Pacino Arthur J. Reynolds, Jr. Neighborhood Representative School Committee Housing Partnership Committee CPDC Neighborhood Representative Selectman Recreation Committee Housing Authority Actions taken: 1) Meeting minutes for 7/1/93 were accepted as submitted by a vote of 7 - 0 - 1. 2) Meeting minutes for 7/6/93 were accepted as submitted with one change by a vote of 8 - 0 - 0. Item G) on page 5 was changed from: the bidder be encouraged to continue discussions with the Committee for the Fine and Performing Arts of Reading in order to make a contribution to enhance the fine and performing arts in Reading." to: the bidder be encouraged to continue discussions with arts organizations toward meaningful contributions to arts-related community improvements." 7/15/93 Page 1 of 5 Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee Continued 3) The architect presented updated schematics taking into consideration a larger soccer field and parking for residents utilizing the soccer field. The new soccer field is proposed to be 280 feet by 120 feet with a 15 to 20 foot perimeter. 4) A letter from Peg LaPierre from the LaPierre School of Dance was received by the committee. The letter detailed the needs and requirements of the LaPierre School of Dance. A copy of the letter is attached to these meeting minutes. 5) Jonathan Edwards read a brief report from David Nugent describing David's finding with respect to the offered purchase price for the Pearl Street School. David recommended that the asking price be increased to work out to $12,000.00 per unit as opposed to the current $7,500.00 per unit. He said that he had some comparables that went as high as $15,000.00 per unit. He said that he would provide a detailed report with specific comparables to the selectmen. 6) Our finance sub-committee, which consisted of Susan Block and Matthew Cummings, presented their findings pertaining to the financial status of Wolf Construction and Longwood Senior Management to the committee. - strong balance sheet for Wolf Construction - no projections of cost so no cost/benefit analysis possible - Wolf Construction established in 1986 - Wolf construction recently raised bonding capacity from 40 to 60 million dollars - marketing of units to start six months prior to completion of construction - it will take 18 months from completion of construction to fill all units - first profits will be realized 2 years after completion of construction - projections assumed 7 percent vacancy rate for market units and 3 percent vacancy rate for affordable housing units - U.S. Trust bank references were provided - reviewed other projects that were completed and operating specifically reviewed the Westonian in Weston impressions were favorable - the Westonian has some turnover but there is a waiting list - the Pearl Street School would be sold to "Pearl Street Associates" a new company to be formed by Wolf Construction and Longwood Senior Management - Pearl Street Associates would start off with 10 percent of the selling price in cash and 6 percent of the selling price as a letter of credit from U.S. Trust - Purchase and Sales will be contingent on getting financing 7/15/93 Page 2 of 5 Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee Continued - Wolf Construction has a one million dollar unsecured line of credit and a 500,000 dollar secured line of credit - Wolf Construction had assets worth 5.3 million dollars in 1992 - Dun and Bradstreet revealed both companies were strong companies with positive growth 7) Jonathan Edwards called the M.H.F.A. and talked with the person in charge of "Elder Choice". Elder Choice is underwritten and it has been fully reviewed. Jonathan acquired the following information: - 90 percent loan to value ratio is the amount they will loan - they require 20 percent of the units be affordable housing - they do not require that the affordable housing units remain as affordable housing in perpetuity - the applicant must have control of the property - a purchase and sales agreement is sufficient - the first step is a review process - the second step is that actual application for the loan - they will not process an application until all required permits have been secured - M.H.F.A. knows Wolf Construction and Longwood Senior Management and have worked successfully with them in the past 8) Mr. Leclaire was unable to reach other building inspectors in communities where Wolf Construction and/or Longwood Senior Management have previously done business. He had tried to reach appropriate building inspectors but was unable to. 9) The committee reviewed the latest draft evalutaions and recommendations. A copy of the latest draft is attached following these meeting minutes. The changes recommended are listed below: Conclusions: A) Change conclusion 1 to read: The proposed purchase price of $487,500.00 could not be definitively evaluated by the committee due to a lack of documentation on comparable projects. We recommend that the Board of Selectmen review the report to be provided by the Board of Assessor's representative under separate cover. B) Change the first sentence of 2a to read: The playfield is proposed to be accommodated on site. 7/15/93 Page 3 of 5 Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee Continued C) Change 2a to read: The size of the playfield is proposed to be 120 x 280 feet, with a 15 - 20 foot perimeter, whereas the existing playfield is 165 x 210 feet with a 24 - 27 foot perimeter. D) Accept 2b as is. E) Accept 3 as is. F) Remove the second sentence from item 4. G) Accept 5 as is. Susan Block to provide the sub-committee's report to Jonathan Edwards. H) Accept 6 as is. I) Item 7: 4.7.2.1. (a) remove all text from "by way of clarification, until the end of 4.7.2.1. (a). In it's place add "The proposed addition exceeds 25 percent of the gross square footage of the existing building." Jonathan Edwards noted that "That's a more clear clarification." 4.7.2.1. (c) is to be deleted. 4.7.3. (b) Add language recommending that the number of parking spaces and loading docks be minimized in order to maximize the amount of open space. Also note that H.U.D. recommends .25 parking spaces per unit for elderly housing. J) Change the section in item 8 which reads "significant impacts" to read "significant adverse impacts". Recommendations: K) Change 24 parking spaces to 20 parking spaces. L) Accept 2 as is. M) Accept 3 as is. N) Drop item 4. O) Change item 5 to be item 4. Otherwise accept it as is. P) Drop item 6. 7/15/93 Page 4 of 5 Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee Continued Q) Add a new section titled "Additional Information". Add one item under this section which should read: "The committee is aware of on going discussions between the bidder and Reading arts organizations. The committee calls these discussions to the attention of the Board of Selectmen." The committee voted 6 - 1 - 1 to accept the above language and the addition of the "Additional Information" section. 10) The committee voted to approve the final evalutaions and recommendations to the Board of Selectmen on a vote of 8 - 0 - 0. 11) The committee voted to have the chairman include language requesting that all town regulatory process be expedited as much as possible in a cover letter to the committee's recommendations. 12) The committee voted to authorize the committee chairman to approve the meeting minutes for this, our final, meeting. 7/15/93 Page 5 of 5 FROM CONSTELLATION SOFTWR 7.19.1993 18:56 P. 7 a: ,mss. DRAFT MEMORANDUM To: Board of Selectmen From: Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee, consisting of: William Goodrich, CPDC, Chair Susan Block, Neighborhood Representative Matthew Cummings, School Committee John Flynn, Housing Partnership Marc Guyott, Neighborhood Representative Eugene Nigro, Board of Selectmen David Nugent; Board of Assessors John Paoino, Recreation Committee Arthur Reynolds, Housing Authority Sub,: Evaluation and Recommendations: Pearl Street Retirement Community Proposal Date: July 8, 1993 The Pearl Street School Evaluation Committee met on June 24, July 1, July 6, and July 15, 1993 to evaluate a proposal submitted to the Town of Reading to purchase and rehabilitate the Pearl Street School for conversion into approximately 65 units of assisted living retirement apartments, to be called the Pearl Street Retirement Community. The proposal dated June 14, 1993 has been submitted by Pearl Street Associates, a joint venture between Longwood Senior Living and Wolf Construction Corporation. This bidder made a presentation to the committee on July 1, 1993. Based on the selection criteria included in the Town's Request for Proposals, the committee has concluded the following: 1. The proposed purchase price of $487,500 is (report on market price research from Dave Nugent is needed to evaluate). 2. a. The playfield is proposed to be accommodated on site, though possibly in a different location. The size of the playf ield is proposed to be x feet, which includes a -foot open perimeter, whereas the existing playfield is 165 x 210 feet with a 24- to 27-foot perimeter. The size and location of the playfield are acceptable provided that a barrier, wall, fence, or hedge, be erected between the playfield and Pearl Street due to its proposed closer proximity to the street. Main- tenance and liability issues should be negotiated between the Selectmen and the bidder. FROM CONSTELLATION SOFTWR 7.19.1993 18:57 P. 8 'V b. The existing tenant, LaPierre School of Dance, is proposed to be accommodated in the basement (below the existing auditorium) in approximately 3000 square feet with a separate entrance and parking. This seems to satisfy the existing terms of the lease agreement with the Town; however, the Selectmen should negotiate a condition of the Purchase and Sales Agreement that the Dance School not be disrupted during construction and that it not be required to move more than once. 3. The projected revenue to the Town government can be expected to be significantly greater than the projected costs of municipal services to the proposed development. 4. The qualifications and management expertise of the bidder's development team presented in the proposal were reviewed. The committee has also contacted references of projects of similar size and type developed by the bidder. The committee has con- cluded that the bidder has the qualifications to accomplish the proposed development in a superior manner. 5. A subcommittee, assisted by the Town Accountant, examined financial statements provided by the bidder to evaluate the financial ability of the bidder to accomplish a successful completion of the project. The results of this evaluation are attached hereto. 0. The quality of the proposed site and building design appears to be acceptable. The siting of the building addition is sensi- tive to the front elevation of the existing building and is in general accord with the design guidelines of the Historical Com- mission. 7. The proposed development as presented does not comply with the following provisions of the Municipal Building Reuse Zoning By-Law: "4.7-2.1.(a) Enlargement of the existing building... shall not exceed a size equivalent to 25% of the gross square footage of the existing building," by way of clarification, this restriction applies to an addition fully connected to the existing building, not to the overall size of new con- struction, which may equal the size of the existing build- ing: the proposal is in this regard in compliance with the By-Law; "4.7.2.1.(c) Perimeter Setback: No portion of... any en- largement of the existing building may be located closer than fifty feet from any boundary of the site;" ' "4.7.3.(b) Parking: There shall be adequate numbers of off-street parking space... to conform to the provisions of Section 6.0. and its subsections;" these provisions specify in this case one-and-one-half parking spaces for each dwell- ing unit and one loading dock for each 20 units. 2 FROM CONSTELLRTION SOFTWR 7.19.1993 18:55 P. 9 v 8. The proposed density of 65 units, or 13 units per acre, is less than the maximum allowed density of 18 units per acre. The committee does not believe that the proposed development will cause any significant impacts on the neighborhood or the Town that should be cause for action at this time. Recommendation: The committee, by a vote of on July , 1993, recom- mends that the Board of Selectmen accept the bid of Pearl Street Associates subject to the following conditions: 1. A minimum number of parking spaces be constructed and main- tained by the developer for use by the general public utilizing the playfield; the committee recommends that a' minimum of 24 spaces be provided. 2. The existing tenant be provided a minimum of 2,987 square feet of space, and a lease renewal option which can.be exercised at the end of the existing lease, the maximum annual rent in- crease not to be greater than the rate of inflation as reported by the OS Department of Labor Cost of Living Index. 3. Detailed environmental site and building inspection be con- ducted and paid for by the bidder; the terms of the Purchase and Sales Agreement indemnify the Town from the presence, if any, of hazardous materials such as lead paint, asbestos, and oil- contaminated soil. 4. The size of the playfield as well as its distance from Pearl Street be increased. 5. All affordable housing units be subject to review by the Housing Authority according to the Zoning By-Laws. 6. The bidder be encouraged to continue discussion with arts organizations toward meaningful contribution to arts-related com- munity improvements. a FROM CONSTELLATION SOFTWR 7.19.1993 1$:59 P.10 Margaret La Pierre Director 617944-70-19 La P erre Sefo of o f Dance TSPearlStreet, ~SurCing, MA 01867 Longwood Management 154 E. Central St Suite $04 Natick, MA Gentlemen: I have received a reduced copy of the floor plans for the Pearl Street School building in heading. The space aloted for my Dance Studio seems very workable with some adjustments. As I mentioned in my conversation with Nor. Levitt, the noise factor is my primary concern. Perhaps an on-site visit during classtime would be helpful. I would appreciate an opportunity to meet with you to discuss this matter. In the meantime, I thought you might like to have more information about my school regarding schedules, parking needs, etc. Our Fall season runs from approximately September 10 to May 30. This is our busiest season, interrupted only by Christmas break, one week in Feb., and one week in April (school vacations). Our Summer session runs through July,-- Wednesdays and Fridays only. We have a workshop in mid-August that runs Monday through Friday 9:00 am. to 8:00 pin. We are closed for the entire month of June. During the Fall season our hours are as follows: • Xmdaya used only for a 6-week period Feb., March, and April for rehearsals for our spring show - from 3:00 to 8:30. Currently our Adult program is scheduled from 6:30 to 9:00. Tuesday$ and Thursdays from 3.00 to 8:30 or 9:00. Xeda sdavs Pre-dance (4 and 5 year-olds) 10:00 am & 1.00 pm. Classes for older children from 2:00 to 9:00. r tXs _Pre-dance 10:00 am & 1:00 pm. Classes for older children from 3:00 to 6.30. $atur;laygi 9:30 am to 1:00 pm. During show rehearsal, this days is extended until 4:00. I have a total of five faculty members, a pianist, and a secretary who will need parking. Most of our parents car-pool and drop off. However, the pre-dance mothers generally park and observe class. I would say the most we would need for that situation is 15 spots. As you can see, this is a very active business with very specific needs. For this reason, it would be impossible for us to be housed temporarily at another location.. I would be willing to make our facility available to your tenants whenever possible. I look forward to meeting with you at your earliest convenience. cc: Evaluation Committee Pearl Street School Sincerely, Pdg LaPierre