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On Wednesday, October 28, 2020, Natick Town Meeting Members overwhelmingly approved Articles 1 and 2 during their Fall 2020 Town Meeting.
Article 1 rezones the front parcel of 45 East Central Street from RG (Residential General) to DM (Downtown Mixed Use). Article 2 authorizes the Select Board to petition the State legislature for a “site specific” liquor license at 45 East Central Street. Both Articles represent a major first step towards the redevelopment of the former St. Patrick Parish properties. Stonegate Group would like to thank the Select Board for their sponsorship of both Articles, as well the Natick Planning Board, Finance Committee, Economic Development Committee, Natick Center Cultural District and Town Meeting Members for their support to help move this project forward. We would also like to extend a special thanks to the Natick Community and Economic Development Department for their guidance and assistance. Lastly, we would like to express our appreciation to our neighbors for their input and backing up to this point in the development process.  Photo credit: MetroWest Daily News Article by Henry Schwan for the MetroWest Daily News (October 28, 2020)NATICK — A proposed mixed-use development at the site of the former St. Patrick’s School is potentially closer to becoming reality after Town Meeting overwhelmingly approved two measures Tuesday night.
A 122-11 vote — with two abstentions — supported a zoning change, sponsored by the Select Board, that extends the downtown mixed-use district to include 45 East Central St., the site of the former St. Patrick’s School. Developer Stonegate Group plans to tear down the former school and replace it with a building that includes commercial space on the ground floor and residential apartments on the upper floors. The property was zoned residential before Tuesday’s night’s vote. The second vote, 129-5, approved a home rule petition — sponsored by the Select Board — that grants a liquor license to 45 East Central St. State lawmakers must ultimately sign off on the petition. Stonegate Group said it needed the license to entice a restaurant to lease space on the ground floor of its planned building. The liquor license request was included in a development agreement the board signed with Stonegate Group back in February. Julian Munnich, a Town Meeting member who sits on the Planning Board, criticized the article that called for the zoning change. Munnich referenced the development agreement the board signed with Stonegate Group, questioning whether there was sufficient public comment before it was reached. Munnich favors an alternative zoning change for 45 East Central St. that is expected to be presented at Thursday’s virtual Town Meeting. It is sponsored by Munnich, and calls for the creation of the East Central Overlay District. “We have ways of doing this more public, more open, to protect other people’s interest,” Munnich said. Town officials and some neighbors said all discussions about a zoning change were held in public. Neighborhood meetings with town officials and the developer were also held. “This has been a long and collaborative process with many stakeholders, including the abutters (that live near the proposed development),” said Select Board Chairman Jonathan Freedman. The development includes a total of 54 residential units — 46 in the main building that replaces the St. Patrick’s School, plus eight in four two-family townhouses on properties behind the main building. There will also be an underground parking garage. Twenty-five percent of the total units (14) will be classified as affordable housing — 11 for those who earn 80% of the area median income, which is the middle number of all incomes for a given area. Three are reserved for those that earn 30% to 50% of the AMI. All 54 units would count toward the town’s affordable housing stock, because they are rentals. Stonegate bought the former school, and three lots — 4 and 6 Lincoln St. and 5 Wilson St. — in 2015 for $3.4 million from the Archdiocese of Boston. All four parcels total 1.8 acres, and will encompass the project. Demolition has begun at 4 & 6 Lincoln Street (the former St. Patricks Parish Property). We have determined that the concrete barn (shown in the below photo), while still structurally sound, is too close to the neighboring property line for us to remove it at this time. The barn will be taken down, along with the remaining structures, at a future date. Because there is one less structure to be removed, the demo work will only last for one day (Wed. Sept. 30th).  6 Lincoln Street Demolition (in progress) As a reminder, Stonegate Group will be demolishing the buildings located at 4 & 6 Lincoln Street (the former St. Patricks Parish Property) beginning Wednesday, September 30th at 7:00 am.
Our contractor will move equipment onto the property Tuesday afternoon in anticipation of their work on Wednesday. All equipment will be stored behind the locked gates. Please proceed with caution while in the area as there will be construction vehicles entering and exiting Lincoln Street throughout the day on both Wednesday & Thursday. Thank you for your cooperation! Stonegate Group will begin the demolition of the 2-family house,
barn and former funeral home located at 4 & 6 Lincoln Street (the former St. Patricks Parish Property) on Wednesday, September 30th starting at 7:00 am (weather permitting). We anticipate the demolition work to last for approximately 2 days. As there will be construction vehicles entering and exiting the property on Lincoln St., we ask that all residents proceed with caution while driving or walking in the area. UPDATE: As of yesterday, (Aug. 26, 2020), the Natick Building Department has approved our demolition permit for 4 & 6 Lincoln Street at the former St. Patricks Parish Property.
Our contractor will be performing the demolition sometime after Labor Day. As soon as the start date for the work is confirmed, we will let everyone know. As a reminder, we will only be tearing down the former funeral home (4 Lincoln St.) & 2-story house/barn (6 Lincoln St.) at this time. The demolition will not include either the former school (45 E. Central St.) or the former convent (5 Wilson St.). It's been a very busy week at the former St. Parish Properties! Yesterday, to deter future trespassing on the property, we boarded up the lower windows and multiple entrances at both the school (45 E. Central St.) and convent (5 Wilson St.). Additionally, this week, we replaced a large amount of the windscreen that surrounds the property. (NOTE: The remaining windscreen on Lincoln Street will be replaced after the demolition of 4 & 6 Lincoln St. is completed) You'll be seeing some activity today at the former St. Patricks Parish Property as we begin
to replace our green windscreen on the exterior fence surrounding the property. We anticipate the work on the windscreen will continue for the rest of this week. Also, as an additional safety measure and to prevent future trespassing, we'll be boarding up the lower windows and multiple entrances to the former school (45 E. Central Street) as well as to the convent (5 Wilson St.) today (Wednesday, Aug. 19th). Thank you! As reported at last night's Board of Selectmen meeting, here are several updates re: the St. Patricks Parish Property as of August 13th: The demolition permit for 4 & 6 Lincoln St. was filed on August 4th after completing all the required work at the property (including pest control treatments & water line capping). We expect the permit to be issued within the next few days and hope to have the work scheduled in a few weeks (weather permitting). Our new windscreen has been delivered and we anticipate the installation process will begin within the next 2 weeks In response to the August 6th break-in / fire at both the former school (45 E. Central St.) and convent (5 Wilson St.), we will be boarding up all doors & lower level windows at both buildings to prevent future trespassing. Stonegate Group was outraged and disturbed by the senseless destruction to both buildings and we intend to press charges against the responsible parties. We would again like to extend our appreciation and gratitude to both the Natick Fire & Police Departments for their assistance this past week. If you should have any questions, comments or concerns, please reach out to us at 508-655-1700 or via email (info@stonegatellc.com). Thank you! Yesterday afternoon (Thursday, August 6, 2020), the Natick Fire Department responded to an alarm at the former St. Patrick Parish properties. Fire officials discovered a small fire believed to be accidently set by vandals in the former convent, located at 5 Wilson Street. In addition to the fire, both the school and the former convent were severely vandalized. Multiple windows were broken and both buildings were littered with trash and spray-painted with graffiti. The Natick Building Commissioner has determined there was no structural damage to either building. We understand that several suspects have been questioned by the Natick Police Department. As this is still an ongoing investigation, further details have not been released at this time. Stonegate Group will be fully cooperating with local authorities to provide any additional information needed for the investigation. We would also like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to both the Natick Fire & Police Departments for their immediate response to the incident. Thank you for helping to serve our community!  Photo credit: Metrowest Daily News & Wicked Local Staff / Art Illman |