The proposal for an indoor sports facility on Lot 3 off of Ice House Road was formally withdrawn today by means of a letter from the attorney to the Economic Development Committee. A copy of that letter appears below.

The Medfield State Hospital Master Planning Committee had previously voted unanimously within the past month and written last Monday to the Board of Selectmen that the MSHMPC recommended no action on the Economic Development Committee’s pending RFP for the lease of Lot 3 until the planning process for the MSH property was completed.  The MSHMPC has been targeting Lot 3 and the Hinkley lot for senior housing due to the synergies of its location next to the The Center and the agreed need for such housing in town.  A copy of the MSHMPC’s recent missive to the BoS is also attached below

MEDFIELD STATE HOSPITAL
MASTER PLANNING COMMITTEE

To: Board of Selectmen
From: Stephen Nolan, Chair, MSHMPC
Date: November 23, 2015

Re: Economic Development Committee – LOT 3 Proposal

At the duly posted meeting of the Medfield State Hospital Master Planning Committee on October 7, 2015, the Committee approved a motion to recommend that the Town should not proceed with the leasing proposal for a private athletic facility on Lot #3 Ice House Road pending completion of our development plan for the former state hospital and surrounding properties. Five members supported the motion, while two abstained from the vote, and one member was absent. The Committee believes that Lot #3 Ice House Road and the Hinkley property may be ideal sites for possible senior and/or affordable housing as they have the twin virtues of being in the vicinity of the Center and not being subject to the sales partnership model, which requires sharing of sales proceeds with the State. As you know, the Hinkley property and Lot #3 were included within our charge when the Selectmen appointed us to work on a master plan for the former MSH property. The Committee is considering plans for a phased development of the Town-owned property in the vicinity of the former MSH and the possible sale of the Hinkley property and Lot #3 might provide a short term response to the demand for additional senior housing in Town while also providing possible seed monies for use in re-developing the MSH property. While any disposition of Lot #3 and the Hinkley property would require a competitive bidding process, we believe that if the properties were re-zoned to allow for some combination of senior and affordable housing they might well command a significantly higher price than available under current zoning.

The Law Offices of
JAMES W. MURPHY
Post Office Box 1327
Sherborn, Massachusetts 01770

November 30, 2015

Economic Development Committee
c/o Sarah Raposa, Town Planner
Town of Medfield
459 Main Street
Medfield, MA 02052

Re: Future Development of Ice House Road Lot 3

Dear Sarah:

Please consider this letter to be confirmation of Medfield Investment, LLC’s
willingness, along with the Town, to terminate and/or have deemed withdrawn its previous submittal of a Proposal to enter into a Long Term Ground Lease with the Town of Medfield for the development of a sports facility on the property commonly known as Ice House Road Lot 3.

To the extent necessary, Medfield Investment LLC releases the Town from any
obligations that the Town may have had to respond to its Proposal, and likewise
considers this letter to be a corresponding release by the Town of any rights, duties or obligations that Medfield Investment, LLC may have had to the Town.
With the different recommendations from the State Hospital Committee and the
EDC, it was recognized that the timing to move forward with this proposal now was not optimal and that it would be best to withdraw gracefully at this time. Thank you to the many people who gave this matter attention. I understand that you will bring this letter to the attention of the Town Administrator, Mr. Michael Sullivan and to the Selectman.

Please let me know if this letter is sufficient or if you need anything further from
me or from my client.

Very truly yours,

James W. Murphy, Esq.