This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
06/27/2017 12:00 AMIn an effort to keep moving forward with Academy School, at the Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting on June 26, the board formally approved the hiring of Colliers International to serve as the town’s Project Manager/Owner’s Representation Support to guide the town through the Request For Proposals (RFP) process and beyond.
In recent months the town ramped up the investigations into a new use for Academy School. The BOS hired an outside consulting firm, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc. (FHI), to conduct an online survey, stakeholder meetings, and public meetings to get a better sense of what residents want to see happen to the building and what possibilities are feasible.
More than 1,000 people filled out the online survey, answering questions concerning people’s individual connections to the school, concerns about the building, and desires for its future use. In addition, at the first workshop meeting on March 28, residents answered additional questions and engaged in group discussions.
After the meeting, according to FIH the next logical step was to move forward with a RFP. To complete the RFP process, the town has brought Colliers on board due to their history of working on projects in town and the possibilities a firm like Colliers presents according to First Selectman Tom Banisch.
“Colliers has an entire plan laid out and this is all just in our first conversations with them,” he said. “[Colliers] has talked about their list of contacts which is world-wide which is kind of what we want to get. We want to get a lot of people here to take a look at [the Academy] so that the best thing happens here.”
To bring Colliers on board, the cost is roughly $20,000 but Banisch said it will be worth the price as all services and data will help the town market the building.
“We look at this as a marketing expense so if we are going to do this right, it is going to cost us a little bit of money,” he said. “…When all is said and done, we have a body of information about the property that will answer almost any question that anyone comes up with.”
With Colliers working with the town, Banisch said Colliers will help formulate the RFP process and help with the selection of viable proposals.
“One of the most important things to me is that whoever does this is capable of bringing it to fruition,” he said.
At the BOS meeting, all selectmen were in agreement that hiring Colliers was the right move. Selectman Al Goldberg said having Colliers will help the town keep an eye on the prize.
“I think this process and this outfit with Colliers will provide a lot of needed discipline to keep us moving forward and keep us on track and keep the process open and transparent,” he said. “I think this is a great idea.”
Once the formal contract with Colliers is signed, town officials said the next logical step for the BOS is to form a steering committee to work with Colliers towards an RFP and beyond.
Academy School: A History
While much of the discussion has focused on the future of the aging school building, its long history has been a key player in many of the current discussions.
The current school was built in 1921 and was later added onto in 1935. It was in use for decades before being closed in 2004. The building was then turned over to the town in 2011.
In 2012, the Ad Hoc Academy Investigation Committee was established to determine the best use for the building going forward. At the time, several third parties came forward expressing interest, including the Shoreline Arts Alliance (SAA) and local developer William Plunkett, who expressed interest in creating 40 to 50 units of housing in the space. Committee Member David Kadamus previously said the committee determined the building would be best for town or community use.
“The committee had a nice mix of people that represented a lot of different interests in town and we did several town meetings that were extremely well attended,” Kadamus said. “In general the feedback was that they wanted that facility, because it is so close in proximity to the Green and the historical nature of Memorial Town Hall, there was a real feel that that whole area of Madison needed to be preserved for its historical nature.”
The suggestion was passed onto the BOS, which approved the suggestion. Former First Selectman Fillmore McPherson previously said the BOS was unanimous in its opinion.
“We thought that having an arts center would be very good for the town, it would make good use of the iconic old building, and that it would be a draw for people to our downtown area,” McPherson said. “People would come for lessons and studios and all of the things that go along with the arts center.”
The town was in discussions with SAA for close to three years before the plan to turn the building into a cultural arts center began to deteriorate. SAA walked away from the project in July 2016, citing a lack of progress over recent months and a shift in business terms, leaving the town to come up with a new plan for the aging facility.
According to recent figures, cost estimates to renovate the property start at $8 million. The current appraised value of the whole parcel—the 5.13 acres including the ball fields, the playground, and the building itself—is $5,304,700. Properties are assessed at 70 percent of market value, so based on the town assessment, the market value of the property is $7,578,143.
The town opened the building up in fall 2016 to sell the numerous school items left in the building. In September 2016, the town attorney shared with the BOS that the conditions of the deed of Daniel Hand, requiring that the building be used for an educational purpose, had in fact been released in 1958, relieving the town of certain development restrictions.
Since then, the town hired a facilitator, FHI, to run public meetings.