EASTHAM – The city is one step closer to developing a downtown area in north Eastham at 4550 State Highway. The city closed the sale of the $2.8 million package on March 4.
The 3.54-acre lot, dubbed Town Center Plaza by the LaPiana family, who have owned it since 1951, promises to be part of a larger development that also includes the 11-acre T-Time lot nearby will belong.
Voters approved spending $3.08 million towards the purchase at the 2021 city convention. The final sale price reflects unexpected costs to the city for upgrading the site’s sewage system. According to Town Manager Jacqueline Beebe, the city expects to bid for an innovative alternative sewage system within two weeks. The system has been approved by the health department.
Union Studio Architecture and Design was commissioned to complete design plans for the property by the end of December.
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In a 2020 community resilience study sponsored by the Cape Cod Commission, Union Studio used Town Center Plaza as a template to design a prototype mixed-use village center with residential development.
Beebe said Union Studio will consider all of the work done by the T-Time Committee to collect data from residents on three properties in the city. Over the past two years, the committee has received survey responses from 2,400 residents, held focus groups and public meetings to get suggestions for the use of T-Time, Town Center Plaza and Council on Aging properties.
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The Council on Aging has contracted with the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Boston to create a strategic plan. The plan will include the types of services the COA should offer and the space it will need to offer those services, Beebe said.
“We want to bring this space together with a coherent plan,” said Arthur Autorino, Select’s CEO. “We’re thinking of housing, business and a combination of different things for the place.”
He and Beebe both said the six tenants currently residing at Town Center Plaza would remain at that location.
John Ciluzzi, president of Premier Commercial, which marketed and sold the property, commended the city for what he called a strategic asset purchase.
“They will be able to decide the future of this village,” he said. “In this market there is a long list of regional and national developers who have been interested in the site.”
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Union Studio plans to hold public meetings on the planning process. Sessions are posted on the city’s website.
“I think it’s going to be great,” said Autorino. “We really need what I would call a city center. Hope this helps.”
Contact Denise Coffey at dcoffey@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @DeniseCoffeyCCT.
