The Select Board Monday voted to extend the leases of the four tenants in the historic Bedford Depot at 80 Loomis St. through 2024, with an additional year at the town’s discretion.
That will leave sufficient time to include the facility in the municipal space-needs study, approved by Annual Town Meeting in March.
“It will take about 18 months by the time we finish the space study, and a few more months to present it and see what we want to do for the future,” said Taissir Alani, director of facilities for the town and schools.
The four tenants “would love to stay,” he added. They are the Glass Collaborative and Scott’s Stone Carving upstairs and For the Boyz barbershop and Babe Ruth baseball and softball storage on the first floor.
Several years ago, the selectmen voted to make all of the leases coterminous, to facilitate the transition to municipal use—if one is identified—for the building.
“It feels like at this point we are treading water” pending the results of the space survey, said board Chair, Emily Mitchell. Board member Shawn Hanegan said he would be fine with omitting the place from the study, because “the Depot building really works,” with revenues offsetting the costs of maintaining nearby Depot Park.
Board member Ed Pierce suggested a March 31 conclusion for the leases, as moving to a new space would be easier than in winter. But Alani pointed out that Babe Ruth baseball and Softball are entering their busiest time of year at the end of March.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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