Norwood Announces Sale By Town Of Forbes Hill Property For $22.5M

NORWOOD, MA - The historic Forbes Hill property has been sold by the town to allow for the further expansion of Moderna's Norwood campus, Selectman William Plasko announced at the Board of Selectmen's meeting Tuesday night.

"I'd just like the public to be aware that the property known as Forbes Hill - after a long adventure and many twists and turns - has finally been sold to Alexandria, which is an international developer of biotech properties and the landlord for Moderna," said Plasko. "Their complex located at the old Polaroid property will be expanding onto that property to some degree."

He added that the expansion will involve the area of the Forbes Hill mansion, leaving the wooded area behind the mansion mainly untouched "at least for the immediate future."

"We successfully came out with a handsome profit after a long process," Plasko said of the town-owned property. "It's been a long haul."

This is the third attempt by the town to sell the property. It was put back up for sale in August for $16 million.

"The board came to the conclusion that we should just sell it," said Tony Mazzucco, the town's general manager, in an interview on August 23. "It's not a great site to hold onto because there's a lot of ledge and it's hard to access. I know it's nice for the town to own a mansion, but there are other potential uses for the property."

The property was first attempted to be purchased in April 2019 by Dr. Roberto Feliz, a Hyde Park pain management specialist and anesthesiologist. He sought to create a $260 million medical mecca with a conference center and 80 housing units, but he could not obtain the financing.

The second attempt to purchase it was tied up in court until this summer. Continental Properties won the bidding process with a $13.5 million proposal and sought to build housing rental units. However, the lowest bidder, Pulte Homes, contested the bid, saying it was incorrect.

The story about the bidding history can be read here.

Moderna, which has a medical campus with two buildings in Norwood, has been seeking to expand. The biotech company produces its COVID-19 vaccine in Norwood.

At a Special Town Meeting in October, Town Meeting members unanimously approved a tax increment financing, or TIF agreement, would allow for tax exemptions for 10 years for the biotech giant. Moderna has two previous TIFs with the town for its other buildings.

He stressed that it is no longer town property.

Selectman Helen Donahue asked how much the property sold for and was told by Plasko that the amount was $22.5 million.

Mazzucco explained at the meeting that, because a note was taken out on the property, it must be repaid first. It was originally purchased in 2017 for $13 million by the town to prevent a developer from building affordable housing under Chapter 40B. It was to be paid off in 20 years.

The allocation of any surplus money from the sale will be decided upon by Town Meeting, not the board, Mazzucco added. If Town Meeting decides not to appropriate it, the money would go into free cash

With the proposed new building for the middle school moving forward and a potential debt exclusion vote for it by Town Meeting anticipated next year, some of the money may be allocated for that expense.