First - a very quick look at the project
Dec 17, 2001 - The Town of Arlington purchased the Symmes Hospital site on Hospital Road for $7.1 million - Lahey will lease the site for $525,000 per year
2002 - Symmes purchased for $7.1 million - https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmasscorp/home/2002-symmes-deed-7-1-million
June 2008 - the site was sold by the Town of Arlington for approx $6 million - the Town of Arlington still owes $6.5 million on the site
Apparently the Town of Arlington lost $5 million on the deal over 7 years - even while collecting $3.5 million in rent over those 7 years
$2 million was the expected cost to demolish the buildings - I dont know who paid for that
================================================================================================
Arlington Advocate articles about Symmes
https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmassorg/home/symmes---advocate-articles
=================================================================================================
Symmes Hospital "Urban Renewal" Project
A short history of the Symmes project - https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmassachusetts/Home/2002
=================================================================================================
My ramblings
- 2001 - the voters of Arlington voted to buy the Symmes Hospital site for $7.1 million in order to control the eventual use of the site
- initial plans were for continued medical facilities at the site, and the addition of a small amount of housing
- http://www.town.arlington.ma.us/Public_Documents/ArlingtonMA_Clerk/elections/2001/arlelect01.shtml
- or here - https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmassachusetts/Home/2001/election-results-march-31-2001 - please scroll to the bottom
- clearly the debt exclusion was to buy and renovate Symmes - http://symmesarlington.org/history/BoS_SymmesPolicyStatement.pdf
- that document from the Selectmen says that the site will be primarily office space
- http://www.town.arlington.ma.us/Public_Documents/F00016D49/2001/S0004507A - ARB Minutes from Feb 26 2001
- voted to buy Symmes - https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmassachusetts/Home/2001/feb-12-2001-arb-minutes---heads-up-on-symmes
- Lyons proposal was different
- 2005 ish - Fish Company (developers) was chosen in 2005ish to build 200 housing units, and a medical office building
- 2006 - all of the existing buildings at the site were demolished - (the North Building had been constructed in 1970 IIRC)
- 2006 ish - Fish paid Arlington $6 million for the site - (but Arlington still owes $5M on the site for some reason
- we should only owe approx $2M by my calculations - a December 2009 or Jan 2010 Advocate article seemed to mention that Arlington might owe $10M actually - ????)
- 2009 - the Great Recession torpedoed the project
- Nov 16 2009 - Selectmen gave approval to convert BANs to General Bonds - https://sites.google.com/site/arlingtonmassachusetts/Home/2009/bos-nov-16-2009-symmes-bonds
- August 2010 - the site still sits vacant - a big pile of rubble
December 2010 - http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/news/x719361454/Could-Beacon-Communities-take-over-the-Symmes-property - there is a list of approx 20 Advocate articles about Symmes on the right side of this article
January 27, 2011 - http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/news/x1145627212/Beacon-Communities-backs-out-of-possible-Symmes-deal
July 2011 - Selectmen and ARB vote that Upton should be the new developer at Symmes
July 2011 - http://www.town.arlington.ma.us/Public_documents/ArlingtonMA_Home/0175C3C7-000F8513 - JAG Acquires Symmes Note
August 2011 - http://www.wickedlocal.com/arlington/news/x142922491/Arlington-threatens-eminent-domain-taking-of-Symmes-property#axzz1UfnwEsNj - Arlington threatens eminent domain at Symmes
====================================================================================================
Misc Info 1
<http://www.town.arlington.ma.us/public_documents/ArlingtonMA_TownMeet/I0008839C?textPage=1> - this is a 2001 document by former Town Counsel John Maher - 40B would have been expensive, uncertain, and drawn out - Lahey would pay $500K per year in rent - $2M would be required to demolish buildings - Purchase price was approx $7.1 million
=====================================================================================================
Misc Info 2
http://www.yourarlington.com/development/2625-redevelopment-symmes-jan610 - Jan 2010 article from Bob Sprague regarding new plans for Symmes - Note that the original overide (debt exclusion) was for up to $14 million to "renovate" the buildings
======================================================================================================
Misc Info 3
http://www.yourarlington.com/pdf/town/11/symmes/symmes_assistedliving_122211.pdf - December 2011 - sketchy sketch of the proposed development