By Susan Manning

Staff writer

What do you do when you can’t afford to update or maintain a building in town? 

You sell it. 

But what if there are no buyers?

That’s the exact conundrum the town of Hopedale is experiencing right now.

Potential buyers had until September 1 to submit a bid for the Town Hall building, which residents voted to sell at the spring town meeting. The price tag of $20 million to renovate the building was too high for the town to afford.

None came in.

Town Administrator Mitch Ruscitti said much of the problem is the cost prohibitive nature of the project.

“To echo Board member [Bernard] Stock's comments—this building was never designed to be a Town Hall. With no more than 11 staff in this building at any given time, the cost to keep this building operational for the Town is not economical, nor is the amount of space required,” he said.

So what happens now?

According to Ruscitti, the search continues for a fiscally advantageous way to develop and restore the building.

“The Town will seek to explore tax increment financing (TIF) options or other incentives to place on the building to help foster development. 

“As the Town has expressed repeated desire to preserve the aesthetic of the building but have simultaneously repeatedly voted down money for necessary repairs, the Town must move forward with the relocation of the offices to 54 Hopedale Street. Long term, this is the best proposition for the Town, as we have been trying (unsuccessfully to this point) to acquire the building for about 20 years,” said the administrator.

Based on discussions with local builders, apartments seemed to be the most fiscally sound option. 

“The feedback we received from reputable local builders was that the most likely avenue for development with the greatest potential return on investment (ROI) for this building would be rental apartments, like what was done at the St. Mary's (Middle School East) building next door.

But that avenue is not without concern.

“However, enough units do not fit in the current structure's blueprint to offset the cost of development. This is concerning because office space in this corridor rents very low - so if it doesn't work for housing it won't work for anything. This is why we are exploring tax incentives for development and will be discussing this further. It will help a reputable developer develop the building and lower the ROI time to where it is palatable,” he said.

Despite the roadblocks, the town is not giving up.

“We remain committed to preserving the architectural significance of the parcel moving forward and look forward to working with a reputable firm or individual that would like to take this project on,” said Ruscitti.