ATHOL — Fitchburg developer Bill Krikorian appeared before the July 13 meeting of Athol’s Economic Development and Industrial Corp. with an offer to purchase the now-closed downtown parking garage and transform the site into housing and retail space.
Krikorian told the board that his son owns a farm in Royalston where the two of them breed horses for racing.
“I find myself in Athol on a daily basis,” he explained, “and as fate would have it, I was driving around one day, and I saw the parking garage and wondered what was going on with that. One thing led to another, and I had couple of meetings with Eric (Athol Planning and Development Director Eric Smith) and the town manager and other town officials.”
Krikorian said he has undertaken several redevelopment efforts in the cities of Haverhill and Fitchburg. His work in Fitchburg created some 200 units, 75 percent of which, he said, is affordable housing.
“I think this parking garage, which is a liability to the town right now,” he continued, “would be an asset if I were to be able to take control of it and turn it into a multifamily project. In order to be able to make this happen, we need to be able to do it in two steps.
“Number one is to agree on a purchase price. Number two, issue a letter of intent that would put that property under my control for a period of 90 days, which I think would be sufficient, which would be a due diligence period. I would basically be examining what my options would be, what to do and how to do it. Then, within that 90-day period, we would enter into a formal purchase and sale agreement at a predetermined price.”
Krikorian said the purchase and sale agreement would be conditioned on the town approving all the permits necessary to build.
“Once those permits are issued and recorded with the town clerk, and we survive the 20-day appeal period that’s mandated by state law,” he said, “I would close on the property within 60 days. We would then move forward with doing what we can do to make the project become a reality here in Athol.
“Athol needs some housing, from what I understand, some affordable apartments, a good place to live at a reasonable rent. I think I can provide that to the town if we can work together harmoniously to put an equitable agreement together to make it work.”
At the Annual Town Meeting in June, voters approved a transfer of ownership of the parking deck property from the town to the EDIC. Corporation Chair Keith McGuirk pointed out that the paperwork memorializing that transfer has not yet been completed, although it’s expected the process should be wrapped up very soon.
Asked how many housing units he’d need to create to make the project economically viable, Krikorian said, “Ideally, what we’d like to see is somewhere around 50 units, 45 to 50 units to make the numbers work. If we were in a town like Weston or Lincoln, Natick, 20 units would make it work because of the huge rents. The problem we have here in Athol — just like they have in Gardner, and they have in Fitchburg — is the low rent becomes an obstacle.
“We need 45 to 50 units to make the numbers and the cash flow work, to make the project viable. In order to do that, we can only get about eight units per floor. What happens when you go into affordable housing, you need to have a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.”
Initial plans, said Krikorian, calls for construction of a five-level structure, with the first floor consisting partially of commercial/retail space, with other space taken up by a common area, entrances, elevators, and foyer.
In order for the project to be realized, Krikorian would need to receive a zoning variance since the town’s zoning bylaws limit construction to four stories. An attempt could also be made to amend the bylaws, which would take more time to accomplish.
Krikorian also proposed approval by the Selectboard of a10-year tax increment financing plan. Under the plan, he would pay no property taxes in the first year of the agreement, with payments increasing 10 percent annually until eventually reaching 100 percent.
He also suggested a sale price of $10,000 for the property.
“So, the starting point right now,” he said, “is to meet with you folks to see if we can make something happen. I’m willing to work with you. I’m willing to work with the community. I think it’s a very, very doable deal.”
Responding to a question about the existing parking garage, Krikorian said, “We’re going to utilize the existing structure. The parking deck itself is pretty good; it’s not good enough to be used as a parking garage, but the supporting columns are structurally sound. The commercial space and the four levels above that would be all wood frame construction and would be built on top of what’s already there.”
McGuirk told Krikorian the EDIC would be in touch with him once the paperwork transferring ownership from the town to the corporation has been finalized. At that time, a more serious discussion about the proposal could take place.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com