Here's the Deal: 95 Acres of State Hospital For $2.2 Million

Buying 95 acres of the Westborough State Hospital site would cost Westborough $2.2 million.

Selectmen approved the terms Tuesday night, and signed the deal with the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management.

The deal would give Westborough unrestricted control over the land, with plans to keep the soccer fields and sell the rest "for commercial/industrial uses or residential uses (over 55) that would have no potential impact on schools," Town Manager Jim Malloy said.

Westborough voters will decide the purchase and sale agreement's fate at the October town meeting.

"It's a huge piece of property, and we're going to protect ourselves," Selectman Leigh Emery said.

The second and third of three public informational meetings on the proposed purchase have been set for 6 p.m. Aug. 27 and Sept. 17 in the Westborough High School auditorium. The first public meeting was in June.

Malloy said the state would fund the purchase over 10 years at 0 percent interest, although the $2.2 million includes "a 3 percent one-time surcharge for administrative costs."

"After the town purchases the property and begins the process of redevelopment and resale, 50 percent of the net proceeds of the sales will go to the Commonwealth," he said.

"This can be reduced to 30 percent through various incentives" in the deal, he said.

The deal requires special legislation, Malloy noted.

Town officials and the state have negotiated for about two years, he said.

Vice Chairman George Barrette called the agreement "a very fair deal" and with "the most attractive terms that we could negotiate."