The town, with the assistance of the Rural Land Foundation, a non profit organization, had submitted a proposal to purchase the site and was one of three bidders to make it to the final round. Jeff McGean, executive director of the foundation tells GlobeSt.com that the town was interested in developing affordable housing on the site. Lincoln has 8.5% affordable housing, making it subject to Chapter 40B rules, until it gets over 10% affordable housing. "The town is making an effort to increase its stock now," says McGean.
While McGean notes that there is some disappointment that the land went to someone else, the town considers the school the next best possible buyer. "It's a compatible use," he says. "People are pleased it's not an unfriendly 40B development." McGean points out that the affordable housing project the town wanted to develop would only have been built with local support.
While the bids are still sealed until the deal is closed and there was no formal request made by the BIIC, McGean says that the land was valued at approximately $9 million. But he adds that under the current zoning laws, the property wouldn't support that high a value. The site is zoned for single family residential and the town's two-acre zoning means that the site, once the required roads would be out in, can only have about nine or 10 homes.
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