County to sell 1820 building

Town denied plea to select a buyer

Plymouth officials won't be able to have the 18 months they had requested to find a buyer for the historic 1820 Courthouse. (Sonja Wallgren for The Boston Globe)

While Plymouth officials hoped to have some control over the future of the 1820 Courthouse, the need for quick cash is forcing the Plymouth County Commissioners to proceed with the building's sale.

In a letter to selectmen, County Commission chairman Jeffrey Welch said his agency "is at an important crossroads." Several projects of regional importance are in the works, Welch said, and their success depends on having cash available.

"Given current revenues and other constraints, we simply cannot sustain our operations without the influx of revenue from the courthouse in fiscal year 2010," wrote Welch.

According to County Administrator Troy Clarkson, local officials and the County Commission had agreed that the town would sign a $1.5 million purchase-and-sale agreement for the courthouse, which some consider the centerpiece of this historic community's downtown. The town would then find a buyer, with a suitable project, to purchase the building before the expiration date of that agreement.

But local officials had wanted an 18-month window to locate a buyer - a time frame Clarkson said was too long. They also wanted the County Commissioners to move their administrative offices out of the annex behind the courthouse. Clarkson said that was impossible at the moment.

"We plan to move into the former sheriff's headquarters on Obery Street, but right now Entergy has leased it, and the Emergency Operations Center is in it," Clarkson said.

"The relationship between the county and the town hasn't broken down, but the offer the town had on the table just wasn't acceptable," Clarkson said. "I'm working on the [request for proposals] for the courthouse now, and I'll have language in it that will protect the building's history. We've also made it clear to the town we have an abiding partnership with Plymouth."

The Plymouth County Registry of Deeds and the 1820 Courthouse were both vacated after buildings were constructed off Obery Street.

The commissioners put the Registry building up for sale, inviting requests for proposals. It had been appraised for $1.3 million. After two rounds of bidding, businessman Kevin Craffey put in a winning bid of $807,770 for the Registry building.

"We're supposed to pass papers on that building at the end of this month," Clarkson said.

It's unclear what Craffey's plans are for the Registry building, which is located in a mixed-use zone. The money from its sale will help the county keep this year's budget afloat.

On the courthouse, Town Manager Mark Sylvia said he had worked for nearly a year on an agreement that would give the town temporary control of the courthouse and the administrative building behind it. Sylvia said the two sides agreed to a P&S agreement lasting 12 months, with an option to extend for six more months. In early summer, the town's attorney drew up the agreement and selectmen signed it and forwarded the document to the County Commission.

"The town was going to do a $100,000 re-use study for the building through our Office of Community Development," Sylvia said. "We felt we needed the extra six months."

Sylvia said the commissioners, about a month ago, suddenly said the agreement needed some revision. They wanted to shorten its term to a year. That, combined with the commissioners' refusal to ensure clear title and conduct a required environmental evaluation before the town takes over the building, were deal breakers.

"We wanted to be able to deliver a clean site to the developer," Sylvia said. He called the change in terms "disappointing."

Selectman Ken Tavares, who is his board's liaison to the county, will join Sylvia and try to reopen discussion with Clarkson and a member of the County Commission. "We'll lay the groundwork and then we plan to have the commission meet with the Board of Selectmen," Sylvia said.

Tavares said he will initially work to see whether another P&S agreement can be hammered out. If that is impossible, he hopes the town can at least have substantial input into the Request for Proposal process.

"The courthouse is the front door to the town," Tavares said. "It's very significant historically, and it's important to the downtown itself. I hope whatever goes in there generates activity for the downtown merchants."

Tavares said there is no way the town can buy the building, but he would like to see the town's tourist organizations take it.

"It could be a tourist welcoming center," he said. "The courtroom upstairs could be used for lectures and meetings. There would be a transportation hub as part of that, so people can take a bus to sights like the Plimouth Plantation or Plymouth Rock Studios."

Tavares conceded the sluggish economy might deter some buyers with innovative proposals, noting, "The times couldn't be any worse to be trying to sell that building."

Christine Légere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com