Selectmen voted unanimously to move forward with the planned relocation of the Lewis Street town yard, an effort they said could reinvent and revitalize Andover's downtown business district.
The July 14 vote means the nine-member Town Yard Task Force will continue working toward relocating the town yard to Campanelli Drive — located off River Road — while also pursuing the redevelopment of the two-acre Lewis Street parcel in the downtown.
Construction of a mixed-use development of businesses and residences where the town currently stores road sand and salt and repairs its vehicles could lead to $800,000 in new annual property tax revenue, task force chairman Hooks Johnston told selectmen.
Johnston said the current town yard parcel, between Lewis, North Main, Pearson and Railroad streets, could potentially be sold for $3 million.
Related development of adjacent properties could add another $750,000 to annual tax rolls, while the long-term development of the "golden triangle," consisting of Essex, School and Railroad streets and Lupine Road, could eventually create $4 million in new tax revenue, Johnston said.
"It looks like this project could pay for itself in 10 or 12 years," said Johnston.
Johnston said the expansion of the town's general business district would "compliment the very restricted center that we have now." The task force's plan has been unanimously approved by the Andover Business Center Association.
"It's a nice shot in the arm for downtown," said selectman Alex Vispoli, noting the project's potential in shaping the long-term future of Andover's town center.
Though he also considered new development downtown enticing, selectman Jerry Stabile, a liaison to the task force, said the main goal of the project will be to construct an appropriate facility for Andover employees working at the town yard.
"That's the icing on the cake," said Stabile of the development possibilities. "The need, really, is about maintaining our vital infrastructure."
In a presentation to selectmen, task force members described the Lewis Street town yard as small and old.
"It's on a third of the space that it needs," said Johnston. "The buildings are in tough shape. They're basically rotting from the ground up."
In their effort to relocate the town yard, task force members said they will reserve the right to consider locations other than the Campanelli Drive parcel, owned by the Burlington-based Gutierrez Co.
Monday's decision eliminated the possibility that the yard would be moved to town-owned land adjacent to the former Ledge Road landfill, said Town Planner Paul Materazzo, also a task force member.
Due to environmental concerns and the complexities associated with building atop capped landfills, any construction at the Ledge Road site would have had to be within 50 to 100 feet of single-family homes, said task force members.
Unlike Ledge Road, the property owned by the Gutierrez Co. has no environmental concerns or nearby residents, according to Johnston. Necessary utility infrastructure and industrial zoning is already in place, he said.
"We think we have found a site," said Johnston. "It is big enough. It is developable. It is on good roads."
Johnston said the Gutierrez Co. is willing to enter into a public-private partnership with the town in an effort to relocate Andover's town yard to a portion of the 15-acre Campanelli Drive site.
The company is willing to work out either a long-term lease or sell the parcel to the town, Johnston said.
"They're very flexible," said Johnston.
A call seeking comment from the Gutierrez Co. for this story was not returned.
Located adjacent to both the Courtyard Marriott hotel and Greater Lawrence Technical School in the northern end of town, Campanelli Drive's distance from the center of town is a drawback, Johnston admitted.
"This is probably the most extreme location to put it in," said Selectman Mary Lyman.
But both Johnston and Stabile noted the proposed site's proximity to both River Road and Interstate 93.
"The access there is a lot better than you might think it is," said Stabile.
Andover Plant & Facilities Director and task force member Joe Piantedosi told selectmen the Campanelli Drive parcel was the best site the group was aware of in town.
The potential for regionalizing town yard facilities was also discussed by officials, with Johnston saying the state was potentially willing to share a portion of its road sand and salt storage facility off Route 125 with the town.
"We can have two depots," said Johnston, noting that, currently, town equipment and supplies are being held in 12 different locations in town. "I'm not sure if all of them will go away, but the vast majority of them will."
Selectman Brian Major suggested pursuing a shared facility on Campanelli Drive with Lawrence and Methuen.
