Rent Break Eyed for Disrupted Tenants

Businesses at 1 Grafton Common disrupted by ongoing construction could get a break on their rent, selectmen have agreed.

The front of the building is expected to be disturbed for about three weeks as work is done to make the building handicapped accessible, Paul Scarlett, president of the Apple Tree Arts Board of Directors, told selectmen Tuesday, June 7.

This creates noise and also forces tenants and customers to use a separate entrance during some of this time, he said. 

The businesses pay from $250 to $800 a month in rent.Scarlett suggested selectmen consider abating part or all of that fee while the work out front goes on.

Scarlett noted that the ongoing construction "certainly disrupts things'' and conflicts with the terms of the lease, which promises the businesses a a quiet, undisturbed area to work.

Selectmen will decide at a later date how much rent money to abate the tenants.

The town owns the building and leases it at a minimal cost to Apple Tree Arts, which is working to renovate the building and move its central location there.