SOUTH DEERFIELD — South Deerfield Congregational Church intends to give its $1,129,700 building to the town, creating the possibility of a new senior center and subsidized senior housing.
Town Administrator Wendy Foxmyn announced the church’s intentions at Wednesday night’s Select Board meeting.
If all goes as planned, the South County Senior Center, covering Sunderland, Whately and Deerfield, will move next door to the church at 71 North Main St., and its current 67 North Main St. building will be renovated for subsidized senior housing units.
“It was our will and intent to gift the town our building and our land,” church member Jack Cooper said in a phone call after the meeting. “There’s a long history of churches in New England being known as a house for the town — and that’s been true for (our) church’s 192 years.”
Congregation members voted to give the building to the town last July. Liquid assets owned by the church have been given to other churches, Cooper said.
“The idea is, we’re going to move the seniors over as soon as we can,” Select Board Chairwoman Carolyn Shores Ness said. As it stands now, Cooper said as an organization, South Deerfield Congregational Church hasn’t disbanded according to state records, even though the congregation is no longer meeting for worship services. Because of that, Cooper said the church is legally allowed to give the building to the town.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Shores Ness outlined intentions to convert the current senior center — the former Grammar School building — into a small subsidized senior housing project. The units would meet state law Chapter 40B’s housing quota, which says at least 10 percent of a town’s housing should be subsidized, or fall under special planning regulations.
“The idea is to build as many small units, cheery, light — truly subsidized. In other words, no matter what your income is, you’ll only pay 30 percent of your monthly income,” she said, but noted there is a chance plans could fall through.
For all of this to work, the church building might have to be repaired and brought up to safety code. Shores Ness estimated renovation and repair costs, as investigated by Selectman Henry “Kip” Komosa, at $150,000 to $200,000.
To that end, the chairwoman highlighted the board’s intention to ask Deerfield residents to approve funds for that purpose at this year’s town meeting scheduled for April 24. If successful, Shores Ness said the town would be in a position to move the senior center later this year, with the subsidized housing project following in 2018.
Throughout the process, Shores Ness highlighted a desire to maintain the historic nature of both buildings, and that the town would turn oversight of the subsidized housing over to the Franklin County Regional Housing Authority if the project becomes a reality.