August 15, 2012 No. 210 Draper Condo Proposal Hopedale in August Hopedale Camp Fire Girls, 1965. Carl Taft (Vietnam War) The denim for your $350 jeans may have been woven on a Draper loom in Greensboro, North Carolina. And a little bit about Hopedale, North Carolina. Hopedale High National Honor Society, 1972. During the last couple of weeks I’ve made additions to several of my website pages, including It’s All Over; Last Worker Leaves Draper, Now and Then at the Post Office, Douglas D’Orsay, William Lapworth, Muriel Tinkham and the Henry farm on Dutcher Street, William (the artist) Draper, the Little Red Schoolhouse, and Joe Perry and Aerosmith. Outdoor fun day at the Bancroft Library. Recent deaths
Historical Society and served as its president for several years. Some of his memories of Hopedale many decades ago on this website, including one on Sacred Heart Church, one on the Freedom-Oak-Northrop area, and another on the milk routes of Milford, Hopedale and Mendon in the days when delivery was by horse and wagon. <><><><><><><><><> Twenty-five years ago – July 1987 – Theodore Hilliard and daughter of Hopedale in helicopter crash into Wallum Lake. Hopedale Parents Favor Retention of Home Economics, Shop Classes Massachusetts unemployment rate at 2.5%. Nation at 6%. Here’s a Bureau of Labor Statistics page with historic unemployment highs and lows by state. Fifty years ago – July 1962 – Hopedale Voter Registration Reaches 2548. Coffee 59 cents per pound at Brunelli’s. Potatoes, 39 cents for 10 pounds at Nu-Way Meat Market. Khrushchev Says West Must Leave Berlin <><><><><><><><><> Draper Condo Proposal Below are two Milford Daily News articles, written almost a year apart, on a proposal to build residential condominiums at the Draper Corporation site. It’s “GO” All The Way For Draper Condo Project Plan
night regarding the development of plans to construct residential units in the former Draper Corporation complex. McLay told selectmen Tuesday night that he plans to purchase the complex from Stimpson Properties which manages the property for the Draper Renovation Association. McLay said he came before the Planning Board last night to ask members if he should pursue residential development and mixed use as opposed to the continuance of manufacturing operations within the confines of the 1.6-million-square foot plant. “Are we talking about 2,000 units?” asked planner Robert Gately, reacting to preliminary reports that 70 percent of the complex would be comprised of apartments and condominium units. McLay, who said it was premature to discuss numbers, pointed out that 1,000 units was a more realistic figure. The developer explained that he would be seeking the implementation of Historic Multi- Family District zoning, which he is currently using to convert the former Dutcher Street School into a condominium complex. At a Town Meeting in 1985, voters approved zoning for the school and approximately 300,000 square feet of space in the Draper plant which was bought by McLay at that time. McLay, who would own most of the complex pending a sale agreement, has estimated that his renovation project would cost about $35-million. He said he would address the board’s concerns regarding water, sewerage and traffic when he drafts a preliminary plan for the complex. Milford Daily News, September 4, 1986. Planning Board Blasts Proposal for Draper HOPEDALE – The Planning Board has blasted the proposed renovation of the former Draper plant, saying that converting it to a retail-office-condominium complex will ultimately harm the town. Developer William McLay, president of W.C. McLay Associates, Inc. of Worcester, is pursuing plans to renovate the old mill building, which closed in 1978, into a multi-million dollar mixed-use complex. The plans include demolishing parts of the building and constructing approximately 1,200 condominium units on the site. The factory will be converted into 800 units and an additional 375 units will be built in five new buildings adjacent to the complex. McLay has also proposed constructing a shopping mall that will feature small boutique- type stores as tenants. However, at a meeting this week, Planning Board members said the project would overburden the town’s water and sewer systems, police and fire departments, schools, garbage disposal, traffic and community planning. Board member James Ronan said the complex would contribute to a decline in the quality of life in the town, and board member Robert Gately said that the complex would be like a “city within the town.” McLay, who was not present at the meeting, currently owns a portion of the Draper site. He is under purchase and sales agreement to buy the remaining part from Stimson Properties of Wellesley. McLay has said that even if his plans are not approved, he will go through with the purchase anyway. The project is expected to cost in the neighborhood of $30-million and take eight to 10 years to complete. McLay said construction could be underway in about a year. However, board member D. Craig Travers cautioned that there is the possibility that the developer will build only the condos and then abandon the rest of the rehabilitation project by saying there is no market for it. McLay was supposed to meet with the Planning Board to set up a schedule for future meetings where he will be able to present details of the project as it progresses. McLay has already presented details of the plan to the Board of Selectmen and the Water and Sewer Commission. He has said he will also meet with other boards in the coming weeks to discuss the plans. Milford Daily News, August 7, 1987 I recall hearing at the time that the project never happened because before it got off the ground, the whole condo market fell apart. I asked Bob Barrows, who was a selectman in those years, what he remembered of it. He replied, “Hi Dan, As a member of the Board of Selectmen at that time my recollection was that Mr. McLay could not get funding for the project and withdrew his plans from the table voluntarily. Thanks for the article. It was very interesting, and for the record, the BOS was supportive of the project up to that point. Bob Several Milford News articles on the proposal Hopedale History Ezine Menu HOME |
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For anyone who is interested in following this story further, there are articles on it in the Milford News going into 1989. Click here to go to them. |