Getting down to details: ‘Preservation plan cheaper than demolition’

Tue, 01/23/2018 - 2:30pm

Lynda Clancy

ROCKPORT — Michael Mullins, of Rockland and Boston, remains interested in leasing the basement of the Mary E. Taylor building on Knowlton Street, in Camden, and has submitted follow-up plans to immediately preserve the historic building. Furthermore, he has suggested to the School Administrative District 28 board chairman and superintendent that it will cost less to preserve MET than demolish it.

The SAD 28 board, which oversees Camden-Rockport K-8 elementary and middle schools, convenes Wednesday, Jan. 24, for a regularly scheduled monthly meeting and is to again consider the MET building. Mullins has submitted further construction and redevelopment ideas to SAD 28 Superintendent Maria Libby, the board chairman Matt Dailey, and has copied Building Committee Chairman Will Gartley on his January correspondence.

The Jan. 24 meeting was postponed from Jan. 17, given bad weather, and its location has subsequently changed to the GeoffreyC. Parker Community Room at the Rockport Opera House Conference Room beginning at 7 p.m.

The meeting will be streamed live at https://livestream.com/Rockportmaine/events/8018853.

On Jan. 10, the school board had unanimously rejected a proposal to sell MET to Mullins for an adaptive reuse project. But the board agreed to continue discussing the idea of leasing part of MET to Mullins and possibly revisiting the 2015 idea of using part of MET as school district offices.

The fate of MET has been under debate since Camden and Rockport voters approved last spring spending $26.2 million on a new middle school on Knowlton Street in Camden, and tearing down all the existing buildings.

There was confusion, however, among voters as to whether MET was definitively included in that demolition plan. Public opposition to the demolition of the 1925-built MET, which is currently used for fifth and sixth grades, has been strong, and has resulted in school board again reconsidering whether to keep it standing.

Two days after the Jan. 10 decision, Superintendent Maria Libby wrote a letter, as she was directed by the school board, informing Mullins of the board decision.

Libby thanked Mullins for his proposal and said: “....If the board decides to move forward with repurposing the building for district needs, we are very interested in seeking a solution that could incorporate elements of your plan. I anticipate that the basement may be a space we would want to lease and clearly there was community interest in your ideas. I should know the outcome of that discussion next week and will be in touch with you to determine your level of interest in pursuing a small scale Camden WorkSpace.”

Mullins responded to Libby a week later, saying he looked forward to exploring a future for MET, and using some of the space.

He also brought up the point that was mentioned Jan. 10 about lot coverage, ADA compliance and building egress.

He asked how he might access the basement space without an existing stairwell and elevator, and inquired whether his program use of woodworking and metalworking machinery would affect noise tolerance throughout the rest of the building.

In a Jan. 21 letter to both Libby and Dailey, a letter that he also sent to the Camden Select Board, Mullins asked:

“What use would occur on the main floor of MET, and would it be compatible with our workshops, which admittedly do generate some noise (machinery, drills and saw, etc.)
“I was forwarded an email from Matt Dailey in which he said the Camden Workspace Proposal was rejected because the conceptual plan shown on January 10 exceeded the building footprint evaluated by the architects and that the District is not in the position to spend more resources on architecture.

“Given that the existing elevator and east side egress stair that serve MET will be demolished under Oak Point’s plan, how would we have access to the basement that is code compliant under the lease?”

Libby responded to Mullins, saying his questions were premature because the board had yet to take up the repurposing of MET for its own use.

“ I expect that discussion at this week's board meeting,” she wrote. “I believe there were a host of reasons different board members voted not to move forward with the proposal, and I don't believe Matt's email to Alison included the thinking of other board members. Once the board decides what to do next, I am happy to have preliminary conversations with you. However, I won't immediately know the exact use of each space, as that will require some planning. I can tell you that if the district uses the building, it is likely we will do something similar to what we had intended to do in the 2015 renovation proposal to voters, and that included relocating an elevator to the interior of the original footprint. “

Mullins, who is president of the Boston-based Mullins Management Group, then wrote to Libby and Dailey, and copied the Camden Select Board and Building Committee Chairman Gartley, presenting a preservation plan for MET.

(See attached PDF)

He included an architectural plan prepared by Randall Imai, of Imai Keller Moore Architects of Watertown, Massachusetts, to address the immediate details necessary to keep MET intact.

The plan, Mullins said, “shows what components of the MET should be retained at this time to preserve ADA and life safety egress in the building, until such time it is redeveloped.”

He also included recommendations about a site plan and provisions for heating and electrical power to avoid deterioration of both the interior and exterior walls.

He said that any preservation plan: “should retain the stair, the elevator, a working heating system, and the main electrical panel. Keeping the building heated is critical for preservation of the interior finishes and the brick walls. Expansion and contraction due to change in temperature can cause cracking of paint and plaster on the interior walls.”

Mullins said: “The good news for the School District is that I believe the Preservation plan will be cheaper than either a) the demolition of the building (the current OPA plan), or b) the option of preserving the building with new interior elevators and stairs.”

Mullins has created a Facebook page for the MET project: MET / Camden Workspace

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