APPROVED: Town Meeting OK’s $10.95M Bid for Scottish Rite Property

It’s now up to the Supreme Council of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry’s building committee to decide whether to sell to the town what could be the future home to a Lexington community center.

It was a special start to Lexington’s 2013 annual Town Meeting on Monday night at Cary Hall. In the most basic sense, it was special because a large portion of the night was spent on a special Town Meeting, which ultimately—and by a rather anticlimactic roll call vote—authorized the Board of Selectmen to purchase a portion of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Free Masonry’s land off Marrett Road for $10.95 million. The land purchase is not a done deal, however, as the bid still has to go before the Scottish Rite’s building committee, which is expected to take up the matter today. A decision could be made in time for a public announcement when Town Meeting reconvenes tomorrow, March 20, officials have said. According to Monday night’s …

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UPDATE: BOS Will Discuss $10M-Plus Bid for Scottish Rite Property March 14

Meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday evening at Cary Hall.

Less than 48 hours after its negiotiating team made public the town's $10 million-plus third and final bid for 10 acres of the Scottish Rite property off Marrrett Road, the Board of Board of Selectmen will discuss and vote to approve the offer at 6 p.m. tomorrow, March 14, at Cary Hall. The property in question is approximately 10 acres of the Scottish Rite’s land behind the National Heritage Museum, including the carriage house and annex, which the selectmen are identifying as a possible location for a community center. The selectmen's negotiating team publicly announced the bid, which is contingent upon approval by the Board of Selectmen and a special Town Meeting vote, in an email to Town Meeting members Tuesday, March 12, the same day …

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Town's Bid for Scottish Rite Property Could Top $10M

Lexington Selectmen will consider the negotiating team’s final offer this Thursday, March 14, and a special Town Meeting would vote a potential purchase next Monday, March 18.

In a move it acknowledged as “certainly unusual,” the negotiating team for Lexington’s Board of Selectmen has publicly revealed its final offer to purchase a portion of the Scottish Rite property at 33 Marrett Road. The offer of $10,950,000 was made March 12 without formal approval from the board, according to an email from the negotiating team to Town Meeting members, which was shared then with the media Tuesday night. According to the letter—sent by selectmen Peter Kelley and Norm Cohen and Town Manager Carl Valente—the Board of Selectmen will meet at 6 p.m. this Thursday, March 14, to consider the negotiating team’s third and final proposal. If agreed to by the board, the town’s offer would then be officially submitted to the Scottish …

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Andrei Radulescu-Banu

4:36 pm on Thursday, March 14, 2013

The open house hours have changed - they are 12-3 PM. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/lexington/message/31467   more ›

Patch Facts

Five Things: Town Boards Mulling Sizeable Real Estate Purchase

A quick look at what you need to see, do and know on Feb. 4 in Lexington.

1. Town Boards Talking Scottish Rite Property: The Appropriation, Capital Expenditures and Community Preservation committees will participate in a Board of Selectmen meeting at 7 p.m. this evening at the Town Office Building, and the only item on the aenda is to discuss a possible real estate purchase at 33 Marrett Road. 2. Sidewalk Committee: It meets at 8 a.m. this morning at the Town Office Building. Take a peek at the agenda here. 3. Fuel Assistance for Eligible Lexington Residents: The Fuel Assistance Program, a program that helps with the cost of heating your home, accepts new applications through April 30, 2013. Call the town of Lexington Senior Center/Human Services Department at 781-861-0194 to schedule an appointment and/or to …

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