Historic home in Moultonborough could make way for Huggins practice

MOULTONBOROUGH — Depending on one’s view, the proposal to sell a piece of town-owned property to Huggins Hospital represents either a chance to bring greater care services to town, or a lost opportunity to carry the historic character of the town into its future.

Voters will have their say at Town Meeting, which will take place at Moultonborough Academy beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 15.

At question is a five-acre parcel of land at 970 Whittier Highway, which contains an 1840 building known as the “French-Taylor Home,” so named after a couple of notable residents who lived there.

The home, situated in the center of the village and across the street from the Grange Hall – another historic structure – was once home to James French, a longtime state legislator, and later was the home of Adele Taylor, who served the town as librarian.

The town purchased the property in 2014, recognizing its historic attributes and its potential as a location for community services. Since then, several proposals have been floated, only to be continuously shot down, to use the property for something such as a community center.

The New Hampshire Preservation Alliance, sensing the property’s tenuous standing, named the home to its list of “Seven to Save” in 2017. The organization noted the building’s hardwood floors, woodwork, original hardware and lighting fixtures, and its value as an example of broad-gabled Greek Revival architecture.

Cristina Ashjian, chair of the town’s Heritage Commission, said that the building represents not just the town’s past, but an opportunity to carry Moultonborough’s character into the future. She noted many planning exercises and community surveys that illustrated broad support for that idea. Ashjian said she’s not opposed to progress, but she hopes that the town’s tomorrow bears some resemblance to its yesterday.

“Retention of the Taylor House is key to the community’s overall Village Vision,” Ashjian said. She asked why Huggins wouldn’t be willing to develop the property in such a way that would allow for expansion of services without sacrificing the property’s historic features. “Rehabilitation and reuse of the Taylor House would actively contribute to the revitalization of Moultonborough Village, in accordance with our defined community planning, economic development and heritage goals.”

The town leaders, though, take a different view. Selectboard Chair Kevin Quinlan signed a letter of intent on May 6, indicating Town Hall’s willingness to sell the property to Huggins Hospital for $75,000. The letter also indicated the hospital would demolish the building within 18 months after taking possession, should both parties come to terms. First, though, the town’s voters will have a say.

“What we would like to do is have the townfolks come to Town Meeting and vote for the sale of the property to Huggins,” Quinlan said. “We believe it’s a fantastic opportunity for the town to have a fantastic health care organization like Huggins expand into the town and offer health care services to the people of the town and surrounding areas.”

Huggins already operates Moultonborough Family Medicine on a property adjacent to the Taylor Home. That facility currently contains about 3,400 square feet of space, within which operate primary care and physical therapy offices.

Huggins has expanded that facility three times over recent years, Quinlan noted, “over the years we’ve had various conversations with them about their future plans.”

Until recently, plans for the Taylor Home looked rather different. A developer was in talks with the town to purchase the structure to renovate it for commercial use. Those plans were delayed when a petitioned warrant article forced that issue to go before the voters, and concerns over the coronavirus delayed Town Meeting from its usual March timeframe to this Saturday, May 15. In the interim, skyrocketing construction prices caused the developer to back out, and, days later, Huggins reached out to inquire about the property, Quinlan said.

Bruce Woodruff, town planner, said the deal would be step forward.

“I would say that it’s a good thing that the property will be used, instead of being a vacant building with vacant land. It really is a positive for the town. My opinion is that, if there was any way for Huggins Hospital to save even the front part of the building and build bigger on the back, that would have been an even better win-win for the town, but it doesn’t look like that was possible by the letter of intent.”

Woodruff noted that Moultonborough has a markedly older demographic, with somewhere around 60 percent of residents age 70 or older. “There’s a need for this type of services so that people don’t have to get in their car and drive to the nearest hospital.”

If voters approve of the article, the select board would be authorized to continue negotiations with Huggins – it wouldn’t be a done deal, but it seems that both parties are eager to find an agreement.

Monika O’Clair, vice president of strategy and community relations with Huggins Hospital, said that despite recent expansions of the current facility, capacity at Moultonborough Family Medicine has been reached, and there’s no remaining room to grow.

“We appreciate the opportunity to continue our growth in the future and would likely need more space than what exists in our current building,” O’Clair said. “If the residents of Moultonborough decide they would like to move forward with the option of Huggins Hospital purchasing the property, we will be happy to do our due diligence and assess the possibilities it presents.”

Increase in demand for Moultonborough Family Medicine services has been driven by closures of other practices in the local health care market, O’Clair said. To meet the growing need, Huggins would need to add primary care providers, but doesn’t currently have space for them to practice.

“The office continues to experience a high demand for services that could require a need for more expansion in the future. The opportunity to purchase the property from the town could help with that need,” O’Clair said. She added that Huggins doesn’t have plans for such a building, nor does it have a timeline for when that construction would occur.

“We await the outcome of the conversations during Moultonborough’s Town Meeting before making any next steps,” O’Clair said.