Committee recommends Northborough Town Hall to relocate to historic estate

NORTHBOROUGH — The ongoing saga of what will become of the historic White Cliffs estate has taken an unexpected turn, as an ad-hoc group charged with suggesting a future for Town Hall is recommending that it be moved into a renovated version of the Route 20 mansion.

The seven-member Town Offices Feasibility Study Committee appeared June 17 before the Select Board , saying that after examining several options in the community, the town-owned White Cliffs property would be best suited for hosting new town offices.

The committee was created due to the age of the current Town Hall building, at 63 Main St. (Route 20). A report from the Department of Public Works states that Town Hall's roof needs to be replaced and that the 100-year-old building is also in need of updates to its HVAC and other systems.

Earlier: Committee recommends White Cliffs estate be converted into apartments

"We did a facility conditions assessment report about a year and a half ago for all town-owned buildings," DPW Director Scott Charpentier told Select Board members. "This building, the vast majority of the systems are well past their useful life. The air conditioning units are all past useful life. The electrical you can tell how it is because it's surface mounted throughout the building. The roof is well past its useful life. The windows are not efficient."

The Town Offices Feasibility Committee examined several options including either renovation or demolition and new construction of the current Town Hall site, as well as looking at moving the offices to one of several other town-owned properties — White Cliffs, the current fire station on Pierce Street and the old Northborough Town Hall site at 4 West Main St.

Consultant says White Cliffs would provide superior space, parking

When presenting their findings to the Select Board, committee members said White Cliffs was tabbed as the best option by ICON Architecture, a Boston consulting firm that examined each proposed location.

Ned Collier, an architect with ICON, told the Select Board that White Cliffs has the size and infrastructure to house Town Hall services, reducing the cost and scope of construction that a new project elsewhere would entail.

"White Cliffs was the favored site for the project, and it's what we have moved forward in developing to a slightly greater degree," Collier told the Select Board. "We looked at the ability for programs to fit within the building and how that could enhance town services. One of the things we liked about White Cliffs is we could actually put some of the Town Hall programming in White Cliffs, therefore reducing the amount of new construction associated with that project "

Collier also cited the property's parking capacity, as well as the civic pride that would come from using the historic estate for town offices.

"There was a strong feeling about the uniqueness of the mansion and its association with Northborough, giving it strong potential for civic presence," he said.

Select Board member expresses concern over $44.6M price tag

The proposal calls for expanding the White Cliffs main building with an extended wing in the back, giving the building the necessary space to hold all current Town Hall offices. The study estimates the cost of moving Town Hall to White Cliffs at $44.6 million.

Select Board member Mike Tietjen said he was not sure if he could get behind spending the extra money on the project, particularly because Northborough is planning on funding a new fire station in the near future.

'A long haul': Town acquires White Cliffs estate for $1.75 million

"My big concern is we're already underway building a $45 million to $50 million building," he said. "Even if there may be a need for a new Town Hall, I don't see the conditions of this building that are similar to the fire station and why it needs to be replaced. All of the options presented are fairly expensive for a town that is already undertaking a very expensive building."

The Select Board did not take any action during the June 17 meeting. Any decision made about moving town offices to White Cliffs would need Town Meeting approval.

Town has been seeking purpose for White Cliffs since 2017

The town has owned the historic manor at 167 Main St. (Route 20) since 2017, acquiring it for $1.75 million after it was put up for sale and plans to demolish it were floated by other prospective buyers. Since then, town officials have sought an investor interested in rehabilitating the property into either a restaurant or event center.

However, the town has been unable to attract investors, with a consulting firm hired in 2020 determining that about $6 million in renovations were needed for the property to resume functionality.

Last hurrah?: White Cliffs, listed for $2 million, is no longer open for functions

In 2023, the White Cliffs Committee, a town panel that was organized to determine a re-use for the property, recommended a plan to convert the property into 52 apartments. The Select Board declined that proposal in spring 2023, with abutters of White Cliffs expressing concern that converting the estate into housing would have a negative impact on the neighborhood, by increasing noise and traffic.

White Cliffs was built in 1886 by Smith & Wesson founder

White Cliffs was constructed in 1886 by Daniel Wesson, co-founder of the firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson. The house contains 32 rooms and was built at a cost of $9.5 million in today’s money.

It was said at the time of construction that each room was made of a different wood that was imported from a different part of the world. The home is noted for its "shingle" style architecture, a derivative of Victorian-style houses, and features numerous outdoor porches and balconies, some of which have since been enclosed to protect them from the elements.

For years, the property operated as a restaurant and function hall, most notably by the Tomaiolo family, which ran the White Cliffs Restaurant and Function Facility from 1953 to 1985.

The LaCava family then purchased the property, running it as a function hall until putting the building up for sale in 2014 .

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Committee recommends Northborough Town Hall to relocate to historic estate