WEST LEBANON — The City Council will seek proposals to redevelop three city-owned parcels in West Lebanon for a mix of uses, but will not consider the site for a new fire station.
The Council voted unanimously last Wednesday to solicit proposals from private developers to convert three city-owned commercial lots — 14, 28 and 30 Main Street — into a mixed-use development combining apartments, commercial offerings such as restaurants and shops and outdoor space that encourages social gatherings.
“I think a mixed use (development) truly is reflective of the best and highest use for West Lebanon’s revitalization,” said Councilor Douglas Whittlesey. “What people have consistently said is that they want a downtown, walkable West Lebanon.”
The request-for-proposal, or RFP, also will encourage developers to consider incorporating workforce housing into their project submissions. City administrators will advertise the project request in March.
The idea of a mixed-use development was recommended by the West Lebanon Revitalization Advisory Committee, a group tasked by the Council to seek community feedback on a preferred use for the city-owned parcels.
Last June, the city purchased the commercial properties of 14, 28 and 30 Main Street from real estate firm Chiplin Enterprises for $1.75 million. Businesses that were leasing spaces have been allowed by the city to remain while the council determined a new plan of use.
City administrators also were proposing to use the land to build a new West Lebanon fire station. The current station, located just a block north of the city-owned lots, is 50 years old and does not meet modern operating and safety standards.
The advisory group based its recommendations on feedback from residents, businesses and stakeholders, including from an online survey launched in October.
Of the 350 individuals who completed the survey, 60% said they would like properties developed into a mixed use of housing and retail, while 28% preferred to use the properties to build a new fire station.
The city, which has two fire stations, has already committed to replacing its station in downtown Lebanon, which has similar deficiencies as its West Lebanon counterpart, including inadequate ventilation and insulation and a lack of space to store and maintain equipment.
In December the City Council approved a $22 million bond to replace the station — which will entail demolishing the facility and constructing a new fire station on the same site.
The West Lebanon station’s property is too small to accommodate a larger facility.
Mayor Tim McNamara, who spoke in favor of a mixed-use project at Wednesday’s meeting, said he would prefer to put these properties into use sooner rather than hold them for several years in anticipation of a fire station project.
“It’s likely going to be decades before we’re in a (financial) position to fund another fire station,” McNamara said. “I would rather see this site redeveloped in the short term and deal with the West Lebanon fire station at another site.”
Some councilors proposed a compromise by giving developers an option to incorporate a fire station into their mixed-use plan.
“In terms of emergency response, this site is the right vicinity (in the West Lebanon area) to have a fire (or medical) response,” said Assistant Mayor Clifton Below. “There is a lot of area to cover in West Lebanon.”
Below noted that many urban areas have single buildings that are shared by a fire station and a commercial business.
He said a project could theoretically be financed through a private-public partnership such as tax-incremental financing — a public financing tool that pays for the infrastructure improvement to support economic development by using the tax gains when properties in that area increase in value.
City administrators strongly advised the Council against trying to incorporate a fire station into its project request.
“I think you are going to over-complicate this,” City Manager Shaun Mulholland warned councilors. “The first thing a developer will ask is what we want. But we don’t know because we haven’t developed a design for (that) fire station. … We are not going to be able (to get a design together) in a month.”
“A fire station is a really detailed, complicated project,” said Deputy City Manager David Brooks. “If we get proposals for a fire station that simply doesn’t meet our needs, then it doesn’t really achieve anything.”
A motion to include the fire station as an option in the proposal — and to push back the RFP completion to September — was rejected, by a 2 to 6 vote.
Below and Councilor George Sykes voted in the minority for the motion.
Councilors Chris Simon, Devin Wilkie, Karen Zook, Erling Heistad, Whittlesey and McNamara voted in opposition.
“I am optimistic that we will be able to find a partner to work with the city to redevelop these properties to compliment the larger investments we are making to revitalize the West Lebanon downtown area,” Mulholland said.
The city has several projects in the pipeline to facilitate West Lebanon’s revitalization, including plans for a riverfront park in the Westboro Railyard, an extension of the Mascoma River Greenway trail and a redesign of the Main Street corridor to improve traffic and pedestrian safety.
The state Department of Transportation is also in the design stage of a project to replace and widen the Dry Bridge, which crosses the railroad right-of-way near the intersection of South Main Street and Seminary Hill Road.
The search for a new fire station location will be put on hold for a couple of years while the city focuses on building a new central station, Mulholland said.
“There is only so much financial capacity to solve these problems,” Mulholland said. “For now, we simply need to wait.”
Patrick Adrian may be reached at padrian@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.
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