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Board recommends selling land to pay for renovations
May, 2002
The Board of Directors will ask delegates to the 203rd Annual Meeting June 7 – 8 to approve the sale of several house lots on the far end of the Massachusetts Conference’s Framingham property, in order to finance renovations of the property’s main meeting facility.
The house lots would comprise up to eight acres on the far end of the Conference’s 114-acre site. The land is in Ashland, about one mile away from the Conference facilities. It is not easily accessible from the Conference facilities, and is not used by Pilgrim Day Camp.
The land fronts on Winter Street, which was recently paved and sewered as part of a development project. Houses are being built across the street from the Conference’s land.
“We have an opportunity here that has been presented because of the development on adjoining properties that has made this land very attractive for potential house lots,” said Board member Wayne Frigard. “And, there was a recognition by the Board of the need for finances for the renovation of Edwards House.”
“It’s a good fit,” Frigard said. “We would be transferring the value of real estate on the far end of the property to other assets in the Conference – namely, Edwards House.”
The renovation of Edwards House was first proposed about 10 years ago, as a component of The Gift and The Promise Campaign, which is providing $600,000 toward the project. However, construction bids for the work have come in at over $900,000, plus architectural and engineering fees.
The renovation of Edwards House is intended to make the building accessible to the disabled, and to improve the fire safety and heating systems.
The main part of the renovation will consist of an addition on the rear of the building housing a new corridor uniting the various meeting rooms, an elevator, accessible restrooms and an additional staircase for emergency access to and from the second and third floors. The building’s front entrance will also be expanded and made accessible, and the meeting rooms will be wired for Internet access.
The view of Winter Street in Ashland from the far end of the Framingham Conference Center site. Numerous houses are being built across the street from the Conference’s land, prompting the Board of Directors to recommend selling about eight acres to pay for the renovation of the center’s main meeting facility. The Board is required to get Annual Meeting approval for the sale of any assets worth more than $250,000.
The Board proposes that up to $500,000 from the sale of the land be used for the Edwards House project. The Board plans to come to the 204th Annual Meeting in 2003 with a proposal to use any proceeds beyond what is used on the renovation.
“We would not expend any of those excess funds without the approval of Annual Meeting,” Frigard said. “This would provide a good opportunity for the Conference to engage in some discussion as to what the excess money should go for. Clearly we would want it to be something that is fitting with the Vision for Renewal and Growth.”
