By Jeffrey Epstein
The Finance Committee, like other Town boards, had many questions and few answers during Thursday evening’s consideration of the Navy hangar property. The Town heads into a Special Town Meeting on July 30 with a fluid situation about the property, a 16-acre parcel on the south side of Hartwell Road owned by the US Navy.
Town Manager Rick Reed emphasized that it is important that everyone understand the fluidity of the situation.
For starters: the value of the property. The Warrant’s Article 2, which would authorize the Selectmen to obtain the parcel, uses a value estimate of $2 million to $2.5 million, but most town officials consider that only a rough placeholder. Both the Selectmen and the Finance Committee expect to be briefed on an assessment of the property that Town Manager Rick Reed suggested would be available to them on Monday before the meeting. So voters at the actual meeting are likely to hear a live update to the information in the Warrant.
Even then, however, the literal current valuation is only a starting point. The actual market value of the property will be demonstrated in the federal government auction to come. The General Services Administration, which is selling the property on behalf of the Navy, now lists on its website an auction date of August 13.
Based on the comments of Reed and elected board members, here is an overview of what could take place:
The minimum bid is $500,000, so for Article 2 the STM will need to give the Selectmen at least that much authority (probably by way of a bond authorization). Whatever the dollar amount of the authority is, it would be the Selectmen’s internal bid limit (and obviously not a secret to other potential bidders, given the public nature of a municipality).
If Article 3 passes, rezoning the parcel to residential may preclude a private developer from finding the once-industrial lot attractive. If Article 2 does not pass at Special Town Meeting, the Selectmen would not be able to participate in the auction and it is unclear if it then could even use the power of eminent domain to acquire the property. Some Finance Committee members think any use of eminent domain would lead to litigation against Bedford.
Reed, for his part, told the Finance Committee that Article 2 would give the Selectmen the necessary tools to handle the matter one way or the other: “It would be a big mistake for the [Special Town Meeting] to not grant this authority to the Selectmen.”
Assuming Article 2 does pass, Bedford would then go to the auction but would probably not bid first. It is possible that nobody else would bid. If that happens, the Selectmen might not elect to spend the $500,000 but instead simply go into negotiations with the GSA and Navy and try to make a deal.
But rezoning (Article 3) is not a sure thing, because as noted by some Finance Committee members, the value of an industrial parcel is generally considered greater than the value of a residential property. Article 3 could be interpreted then as reducing the potential value of the property.
Even if Article 3 passes, under Commonwealth environmental rules, the property could not be actually developed for some time because of the groundwater contamination on site. The Navy monitors the contamination (and would continue to do so under a new owner), and it is believed to be gradually abating, Reed said. At some point, even without active mitigation by a new owner, the groundwater would be safe enough to proceed with a residential development, but nobody knows just when that would be. (Also, the market for persons eager to live near an active jet runway in Bedford is unknown.)
Of course, the parcel does not need to be developed at all. If no one else wants it and the town takes it over, it could simply lie fallow.
Another interested party, however, could get back in the game: Massport. Massport took a pass on the property recently because of a perceived encumbrance: The property is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. If that were not an issue, some believe Massport may show interest.
So, expect the STM to be a lively discussion, with the possibility of information and updates as yet unknown.
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