Request for Letters of Interest - Revised 101320

Request for Letters of Interest Adaptive Reuse of the Russell School Town of Hadley, Massachusetts October 21, 2020 The Town of Hadley is preparing to offer the historic building and site that compose the Russell School, located at 131 Russell Street, Hadley, MA 01035 for adaptive reuse by qualified entities The Town is seeking redevelopment partners who recognize the unique opportunity to bring new life to this rare building that occupies a highly visible, park-like site along Route in Hadley’s village center Letters of Interest are due on _, 2020 at 2:00 p.m and must be delivered to Select Board Office, 100 Middle Street, Hadley, MA 01035 The Town, through its Select Board, requests Letters of Interest from prospective proponents for the reuse and redevelopment of this property Letters of Interest are being sought to help gauge the type and extent of interest in the reuse of the property, provide opportunities for redevelopers to identify other entities that may be interested in participating as tenants or co-developers, and to generally inform the preparation and issuance of the final Request for Proposals for the adaptive reuse and long-term lease of the building The Town anticipates composing and issuing the RFP after reviewing the Letters of Interest, with responses due early in 2021 The Russell School is one of the most important, iconic, and highly-visible historic buildings anchoring and defining Hadley's Town Center Historic District Built in 1894, it was the home of Hopkins Academy until 1909 when it served as an elementary and middle school until 1996 After closing as a school, the building was leased to educational entities until 2017 The building contains 10,613 square feet on a 1.87 acre lot The building is currently used for storage The town has not pursued repurposing the building for offices The town has conducted two studies to assess the building’s condition, to explore possible use for town offices, to identify needed upgrades and repairs, and preserve historical features The town has performed maintenance, primarily roof repairs Copies of the building studies may be found on the Town of Hadley website or by following these links: https://www.hadleyma.org/select-board/pages/hadley-building-survey https://www.hadleyma.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif651/f/uploads/hadley_historic_preservation_plan hbpp_final_-_29_april_2013.pdf The site is located within the Business District B zone as well as in the Village Center and Senior Housing Overlay District of the town zoning bylaw The building is listed on the State and National Historic Register and could be eligible for preservation funding assistance, state and federal historic tax credits and affordable housing tax credits Restoration of the building, particularly stabilization and repair of the exterior building envelope may be eligible for Community Preservation Funds The Town is interested in proposals that will provide the best overall adaptive reuse of the property and that will preserve the school's historic character Redevelopment of the site could potentially include senior housing, affordable or market rate residences, educational uses such as a non-profit school or childcare center, commercial office space, or other adaptive reuses allowed by town zoning Letters of Interest are due on _, 2020 at 2:00 p.m and must be delivered to Select Board Office, 100 Middle Street, Hadley, MA 01035 Sincerely, David J Fill, Jr Chair, Select Board Letters of Interest are requested for submittal by 2:00 pm on December 16, 2020 Letters should be addressed to Select Board, Town of Hadley, 100 Middle Street, Hadley, MA 01035  ...to generally inform the preparation and issuance of the final Request for Proposals for the adaptive reuse and long-term lease of the building The Town anticipates composing... affordable or market rate residences, educational uses such as a non-profit school or childcare center, commercial office space, or other adaptive reuses allowed by town zoning Letters of Interest. .. Select Board Office, 100 Middle Street, Hadley, MA 01035 Sincerely, David J Fill, Jr Chair, Select Board Letters of Interest are requested for submittal by 2:00 pm on December 16, 2020 Letters should