Is now the time to sell the Grafton Town House?
It’s just one line on the Select Board’s agenda for Tuesday, but it’s a surprising one: “One Grafton Common – Discuss potential sale/options.”
It’s a subject that hasn’t really come up since October 2007, when a straw poll taken at Town Meeting found residents firmly against selling the Grafton Town House — formerly Grafton’s Town Hall. That fall, Apple Tree Arts expressed interest in working with the town to raise funds to renovate the building in exchange for a long-term lease of the second and third floors.
One Grafton Common has a long and complicated history, worthy enough to go on both the state and national registries of historic buildings. It was originally constructed by businessman Jonathan Warren from a design by architect Elbridge Boyden, who not only created the Unitarian Church next door, but famously known for designing Worcester’s Mechanics Hall. One Grafton Common was completed in 1852, but was not exactly the building that sits there today. The building, as well as the church next door, burned to the ground during the Civil War on Sept. 11, 1862.
Both structures were later rebuilt and, in 1895, Warren sold it to the town for $17,000.
As the town’s center of government for a century, it hosted town meetings, dances, concerts, and graduations. It was the original home of the local Masonic lodge. The Great Hall was even used for basketball games.
After the Municipal Center took over as the town hall, One Grafton Common went through a series of changes. The Great Hall was split into cubicles by one tenant, while the ground floor housed an ever-revolving number of small businesses and shops (The very top floor housed an online news start-up in 2009, but that’s another story).
In 2009, the Board of Selectmen formed the the Grafton Town House Oversight Committee and the deal was struck with Apple Tree Arts, which pledged to raise $1 million toward renovations in exchange for a longterm lease of the second and third floors. It came with a caveat: they had 10 years to accomplish the task. In exchange, Apple Tree Arts pays $1 annually for their lease but is also responsible for paying their share of the common maintenance expenses of the building.
Over the years, the building’s roof was replaced, the entrance was made accessible, an elevator was added, and other alterations were made.
What happens next? That’s coming up at the Select Board meeting Tuesday.
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