Affordable Housing Goal; Hanson Confident It Will Get Hospital Site
Jack Encarnacao
The Patriot Ledger
HANSON - The path is now clear for Hanson to reclaim the $5 million site of the former Plymouth County Hospital. Yesterday, federal bankruptcy court closed the case of a Wellesley development company that purchased the 22 acres but filed for bankruptcy after it could no longer finance the project. A federal judge rejected the company's bankruptcy claims. As a result, a civil complaint filed against the developer by the town can proceed. "There will be an automatic pursuit in Plymouth Superior Court to get the land back," Hanson executive secretary Michael Finglas said. "I'm not going to discuss our legal strategy in public, but we do have one planned. We will own it again. This is such an important issue to the community," he said.
Finglas said the town would like to develop 120 units of affordable housing on the site if the town can get it back. "We still have a need for housing for those 55 and over, and that is an excellent location," he said. He also said the board of selectmen might establish a committee to study other possible uses for the land, including a possible town cemetery. Hanson sued Baran Partners LLC on Jan. 20 for breach of contract after the company failed to begin construction or make scheduled payments. Eight days after the suit was filed, Arbor House and Hanson Gardens, two limited partnerships created by Baran Partners to develop the former hospital land, filed for bankruptcy protection, saying they were unable to obtain financing for the project. Judge Robert Somma rejected Hanson Gardens and Arbor House Associates' claims on June 13. Since then, Baran could have filed any objections or motions to reconsider the ruling but did not. Yesterday, the case was closed. A Plymouth County Superior Court judge has granted an injunction preventing Baran from doing anything with the land until Hanson's civil complaint against the company is resolved. Town meeting voted four years ago to sell portions of the hospital land to Baran Partners for construction of 49 townhouses and a 70-unit assisted living facility. The project was to cost $22 million. Last year, Baran defaulted on a $219,000 mortgage it owed on the hospital building. The town still controls 34 acres of the hospital land. It purchased the entire 56-acre site in 1999 from Plymouth County for $950,000, hoping to attract a developer to create housing for the elderly. The hospital closed in 1992. The three hospital properties combined are worth $5,287,400, according to assessors' records. The closing of the bankruptcy case marks an end to legal wrangling that began when Arbor House and Hanson Gardens failed to commence construction by Dec. 31, 2004. Baran and town officials blamed each other for delays. The town tried to reclaim the land, a move that was initially rejected by the developer. The town's efforts were further stymied by the bankruptcy filing, which put the land in the hands of a trust until the case was resolved. In March, Baran owner Paul A. Ferreira filed a lawsuit in Norfolk Superior Court alleging that town officials defamed his reputation to other potential clients and violated his civil rights. The lawsuit also alleges that the town was responsible for delays in water and sewer permit approvals, and "unfairly demanded that the developer bear all related financial consequences" for a costly waste-water treatment plant that would be needed at the site instead of a septic system. The lawsuit is pending, with a disposition scheduled for March 2008. Ferreira could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Finglas said the town would like to develop 120 units of affordable housing on the site if the town can get it back. "We still have a need for housing for those 55 and over, and that is an excellent location," he said. He also said the board of selectmen might establish a committee to study other possible uses for the land, including a possible town cemetery. Hanson sued Baran Partners LLC on Jan. 20 for breach of contract after the company failed to begin construction or make scheduled payments. Eight days after the suit was filed, Arbor House and Hanson Gardens, two limited partnerships created by Baran Partners to develop the former hospital land, filed for bankruptcy protection, saying they were unable to obtain financing for the project. Judge Robert Somma rejected Hanson Gardens and Arbor House Associates' claims on June 13. Since then, Baran could have filed any objections or motions to reconsider the ruling but did not. Yesterday, the case was closed. A Plymouth County Superior Court judge has granted an injunction preventing Baran from doing anything with the land until Hanson's civil complaint against the company is resolved. Town meeting voted four years ago to sell portions of the hospital land to Baran Partners for construction of 49 townhouses and a 70-unit assisted living facility. The project was to cost $22 million. Last year, Baran defaulted on a $219,000 mortgage it owed on the hospital building. The town still controls 34 acres of the hospital land. It purchased the entire 56-acre site in 1999 from Plymouth County for $950,000, hoping to attract a developer to create housing for the elderly. The hospital closed in 1992. The three hospital properties combined are worth $5,287,400, according to assessors' records. The closing of the bankruptcy case marks an end to legal wrangling that began when Arbor House and Hanson Gardens failed to commence construction by Dec. 31, 2004. Baran and town officials blamed each other for delays. The town tried to reclaim the land, a move that was initially rejected by the developer. The town's efforts were further stymied by the bankruptcy filing, which put the land in the hands of a trust until the case was resolved. In March, Baran owner Paul A. Ferreira filed a lawsuit in Norfolk Superior Court alleging that town officials defamed his reputation to other potential clients and violated his civil rights. The lawsuit also alleges that the town was responsible for delays in water and sewer permit approvals, and "unfairly demanded that the developer bear all related financial consequences" for a costly waste-water treatment plant that would be needed at the site instead of a septic system. The lawsuit is pending, with a disposition scheduled for March 2008. Ferreira could not be reached for comment yesterday.
This article was
written by Jack Encarnacao
and published by The Patriot Ledger
on Thursday, July 28