Bristol, LRGHealthcare sign agreement for building purchase

BRISTOL — A major step forward in efforts to address space needs at the Bristol Municipal Building is the signing of a purchase-and-sales agreement with LRGHealthcare that would turn ownership of the Bristol Professional Building over to the town.

Bristol selectmen and LRGHealthcare have agreed on a $335,800 purchase price for the building, which had been the offices for Newfound Family Practice at 5 School St. The offices closed this spring as part of LRGHealthcare's cost-cutting measures.

The sale hinges on voters' approval of the agreement at a special town meeting that selectmen plan to hold in the fall.

Tentative plans for the building are to relocate municipal offices there and turn the current municipal building over to the Bristol Police Department, which currently shares space in the building. Plans to revitalize the 230 Lake Street building as a police station will require a vote at a future town meeting, according to the selectmen.

“If the voters agree to move forward with the purchase of the professional building, it will be a big step in solving the town’s space needs challenges,” said Rick Alpers, chairman of the Bristol Board of Selectmen. “We appreciate the space needs committee having the foresight to identify the building as an ideal location for the future town office building and thank LRGHealthcare for being great partners throughout this process.”

Kevin W. Donovan, LRGHealthcare's president and chief executive officer, said, “LRGHealthcare is happy to work with the Bristol Select Board on this building sale. We are pleased to know that the building that for many years served the community as a health care resource will continue to do so in a new capacity.”

Town Administrator Nik Coates said Bristol's next step will be to petition the Grafton County Superior Court for approval to hold a special town meeting and then to set a schedule for the meeting and public hearings leading to it. The special meeting would likely occur in October.

Coates said the town plans to continue working with Samyn D’Elia Architects of Ashland and Milestone Engineering of Concord to assist in the planning.

The three major questions to be addressed are whether to install an elevator for the second-floor office space; determine the need for a sprinkler system; and decide on an HVAC system. The building currently is heated by electricity.

The architects originally proposed building a new town hall on town-owned land adjacent to the current municipal building, while updating the renovation plan previously developed to expand the police department within its current building. Cost concerns with the $3.8 million project and the adjustments to lower those costs made the plan for a new town hall unpopular.

Those plans were put on hold when the Space Needs Committee learned just before the March Town Meeting that LRGHealthcare was closing Newfound Family Practice. Committee members touring the facility determined that little renovation would be necessary to turn the professional building into a hall that would meet all of the town office needs identified in their research.

LRGHealthcare had recently made many cosmetic improvements to the building, so Coates said it would mainly be a case of removing some petitions and reconfiguring examination rooms for office space.

One wing of the building could be opened up to create a 900-square-foot meeting room capable of accommodating 50 people, which was one of the goals in the new town hall plan.

The clinic's reception area is suitable for the town clerk and tax collector's office, with customer windows already facing a reception area. Tentative plans would put the land use offices at one end of the building where there is a separate entrance. Administrative offices could be located on the second floor, Coates said.

"We can save money and solve all of the different challenges we had identified," he said, noting that the architectural firm will be providing more concrete plans and cost estimates in the near future.

The professional building had been assessed at around $550,000, according to Coates. LRGHealthcare agreed to pay for an appraisal which came back at about $356,000. The purchase-and-sales price is lower than that because the parties are dealing directly, rather than going through a real estate agency, Coates explained.

The town plans to conduct public tours of the building prior to the special town meeting.

In addition to Coates, those representing Bristol in the negotiations were Selectman Wayne Anderson and Space Needs Committee Chair Edward "Ned" Gordon.