Submitted by District 1 RTM Members listed below*
A letter submitted to the Representative Town Meeting regarding the Town’s process to repurpose the Havemeyer Building. The RTM meeting scheduled for Monday, April 21, 2025 includes an agenda item to appropriate $50,000 for a consultant to further evaluate six confidential RFP responses received by the Town.
Fellow Members of the RTM,
The undersigned Members of District 1, representing over 5,000 residents, respectfully ask the body to reject agenda item #11 (a $50,000 interim appropriation intended to further evaluate proposals to repurpose the Havemeyer Building).
The Havemeyer Building was donated to the Town for educational use and has served as the home of the Board of Education for nearly 77 years. Located at the heart of the Avenue, it sends a powerful message about our commitment to public education and civic pride, highlighting our school system as a true jewel of our Town.
RFP responses appear to range from a condominium, hotel, to a retirement home, an amphitheater/concert venue, and commercial office spaces. With the possibility of a 99-year lease, any agreement reached could govern this cornerstone of our heritage for generations.
None of these uses “return this building to the people.”
We recognize the need to renovate the building and agree that exploring new uses is prudent. However, the current process lacks genuine community engagement and clear vision. We owe it to our community, and especially to those who have long benefited from the building’s legacy, to insist on a redevelopment plan that is thoughtful and truly reflective of our shared values.
No public hearing has been held, and there has been no serious engagement of District 1 residents (where the building is located). For instance, the RFP committee excludes any D1 representation from the process.
The existing RFP process, in which developers shape proposals strictly to meet their economic objectives, has led to profit-seeking responses that treat public use as a secondary concern.
Some buildings have more meaning than simply their financial output.
We must not relinquish an important piece of our history without a community-endorsed plan that keeps our public interests at the forefront. The process should be “flipped” so that the Town first defines a shared vision and then seeks appropriate strategies to realize that vision.
RTM members have been told this interim appropriation is intended merely to allow for closer evaluation of a subset of the RFPs without any decisions at this stage. We contend this approach wastes valuable resources through a flawed process. We do not want another situation like Hamill Rink.
For these reasons, we respectfully ask you to vote “no” on item #11.
Thank you for your attention to preserving both our heritage and our future.
*Signed by the following District 1 RTM Members:
Aakash Patel
Alison W. Ghiorse
Chloe H. Rosenfeld
Dean C. Goss
Elizabeth S. Urdang
Frederick R. Feldman
Jaysen L. Medhurst
Jeffrey S. Urdang
Katharine Ashworth
Lynn B. Garelick
Sam Rosenfeld
April 21, 2025 RTM full meeting 8:00pm. Zoom link.