During the second night of the Town Meeting, voters passed Article 13 authorizing the Select Board to convey the parking lot at 13 School St. to a qualified developer. The property, which was taken for non-payment of taxes in 1990, is being used as public parking for neighborhood businesses and commuters using the South Acton train station.
The parking lot is in the South Acton Village zoning and historic districts. At last year’s Town Meeting voters adopted a new South Acton Vision and Action Plan designed to revitalize the area. The Town hopes that the development plan will return the property to the tax rolls while providing new housing and commercial space and still retaining some public parking.
As reported by the Acton Exchange in the April 12 edition, the Town issued a request for proposals (RFP) to purchase and develop both the parking lot and the former Civil Defense building at 3 School St. Town Manager John Mangiaratti announced at the Town Meeting that the Town has received one proposal from a developer who met all the qualifications of the RFP and who offered $600,000 for the two non-adjacent parcels. The proposal included eight units of housing and four units for commercial use and six public parking spaces. The parking lot now has 24 marked spaces.
Ten speakers debated for twenty-five minutes. Many were concerned about the loss of parking spaces. One was in favor of leaving the area as a town-owned open space. A representative of the Economic Development Committee was in favor of the article, noting that the property on 3 School St, though not directly the subject of the article, would benefit from the redevelopment of both parcels. She said the proposals for the area “will breathe new life into these abandoned and underutilized properties.” Another speaker cited the development of West Acton over the last twenty years, hoping that South Acton might follow West Acton’s example.
The Select Board was unanimously in favor of the article. The Finance Committee, despite voting three times on the measure, remained deadlocked and did not offer a recommendation. Half of the Finance Committee were concerned about the loss of parking spaces, especially as more people return to in-person work and the other half welcomed the revitalization of the neighborhood.
The article required a 2/3 vote and it carried by a 213-57.
Jeff Brown is the Acton Exchange business beat reporter.
