Residents Vote On $1.77 Million Property Purchase In Guilford

GUILFORD, CT — Guilford voters on Tuesday authorized the town to purchase the property at 370 Church St. for $1.77 million, potentially paving the way for a new police station.

The vote at the special Town Meeting on Tuesday at Guilford High School was 93 in favor and 10 opposed. First Selectman Matt Hoey told Patch on Wednesday he was "thrilled" with the outcome.

A draft purchase agreement is already complete, and Hoey said the acquisition should be finalized "in a relatively short fashion."

Once the property is under town ownership, officials are expected to go back to the planning process to evaluate "the most cost-effective way to address security, space, and infrastructure concerns at the police station," the town has said.

Any proposal to renovate or build would return to residents for approval in a referendum.

"I was wholly supportive of the initiative to buy [the property]. When I learned through a private party that the property was potentially available, I immediately engaged land acquisition folks to start to negotiate for it," Hoey told Patch, noting the seller is 370 Church St. LLC.

The 1.1-acre property previously housed Prospector Partners, an investment management firm that has since closed.

In making the case for the acquisition, both Hoey and Guilford Police Chief Christopher Massey have said the property would be a "strategic asset" for the town, notably because of its location at the interchange of I-95 and Route 77, and because of the condition of the current police station.

The Guilford Police Department building is aging, and it's been in use since 1996.

Over the last three years, town and police officials have been working to find cost-effective ways to address issues in the building, such as inadequate facilities for the growing number of female officers, different safety and security risks, and roof and HVAC updates.

A building needs assessment completed by architectural firm Silver Petrucelli + Associates last year estimated there would be $19.9 million in renovation costs for a "temporary fix" of the building, according to the town.

A follow-up study completed in July estimated an "order of magnitude" budget of $35.6 million for a conceptual new building, the town has said.

"It is the quintessential, long-term planning technique we've used in the past, with acquiring properties that will have either a short-term, mid-term or long-term beneficial use for the town. It's actually a strategy that's known as land banking," Hoey said Wednesday. "It's very often used with distressed properties for eventual mediation, but it's also used for municipalities like Guilford."

Hoey cited previous similar acquisitions, such as a parcel of land adjacent to the Community Center to help with parking shortfalls and storage for Parks & Rec.

Another property was purchased at the intersection of Long Hill Road and Route 80 as a potential site for Public Works operations, as the current facility is in a floodplain.

"This is a strategy we've used in the past, which is identifying future needs and making some plans to try and accommodate those, even though we may not have anything definitive on paper or on the drawing boards or approved. It just makes sense for us to control that entire property," Hoey said.

"We will be looking at all of the opportunities to fold that property into what makes most sense long-term for the operation of police and fire."

Some residents have complained on social media about the turnout of 103 voters at Tuesday's special Town Meeting. Hoey said turnout is "one of the challenges with the town meeting form of government."

"We did not address that in our most recent Charter revision. It might have been a shortcoming of ours to not have identified that," Hoey explained.

"It continues to give the members of the community an opportunity to weigh in on some decisions. It's a vestige of a longstanding tradition in small communities like Guilford where these kinds of decisions were often done at town meetings with neighbors gathering."

Hoey noted if there was a large turnout for a Town Meeting and just 10 percent of eligible voters participated, there wouldn't even be enough space to accommodate everyone.

Patch has reached out to Guilford Police Chief Christopher Massey for comment.