Taunton puts its former police station on Summer Street up for sale, with proposals due Jan. 20

TAUNTON Taunton is taking proposals to buy and redevelop its former police station at 23 Summer St., the downtown building the department left in May for the new public safety headquarters on County Street. The city's request for proposals, RFP 27-121-10, was published Wednesday, Oct. 28, and offers are due Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2027, at 2 p.m.

The sale follows an 8-1 City Council vote on Tuesday, Oct. 6, to declare the building surplus and send out the request. Council President Barry Sanders and Councilors Debra Botellio, Phillip Duarte, Edward Correira, David Chaves, David Pottier, John McCaul and Scott Martin voted yes, and Councilor Deborah Carr voted no. All nine councilors were present for the roll call, and the council's Committee on Public Property and Information Technology had backed the move 3-0 earlier that evening.

Why the city is selling

Chief Financial Officer Patrick D. Dello Russo Jr. gave the committee three choices: sell the building, leave it empty or renovate it. He recommended a sale, telling councilors it would generate new tax revenue, stop the city from spending money to maintain a vacant building and open the site to mixed-use development such as housing or retail. Renovating would cost $4 million to $6 million, money he said the city does not have, and would delay or derail the city's plan to replace its fire stations.

The building went up in 1958 and was a grocery store before the police moved in, Dello Russo said. Superintendent of Buildings Chris Carmichael described it as in disrepair. The 16,846-square-foot structure has a roof at the end of its life and a heating and cooling system that needs total replacement, he said, and the basement has leaks and black mold. It does not meet accessibility rules and would need an elevator. Carmichael said the $4 million to $6 million estimate covers only the bare minimum to make the building habitable and structurally sound, not a fit-out for a city department.

The property is offered as is, Dello Russo said, which leaves any environmental cleanup to the buyer. Sanders, who chairs the committee, said the council had received a draft of the request. Describing that draft, he said 25% of the units would be affordable housing and that there looked to be an opportunity for retail as well. The final terms are open only to registered bidders.

What councilors said

Carr said she has no appetite for apartments downtown and believes the city already has too much housing, though she would support a different use. She also asked the committee to confirm that once the building is declared surplus and the request goes out, the council no longer has a say, and she said a city team would evaluate the bids and choose the winner. Dello Russo said the process lets the city set specific limits and preferences for what it will accept.

Duarte, who lives downtown, said he prefers housing to a vacant building and asked how long the city should keep an empty building with no real need for it. Botellio said she wants to make sure City Hall keeps enough parking, and Carmichael said parking would be addressed during the planning process. Correira asked whether the city would remove the mold before putting the building on the market, and McCaul asked why it would not. Carmichael said the mold is not that bad and is the same condition police worked in for years. Martin said he agreed with sending out the request.

The new public safety buildings

The department moved its records office to 90 County St. in mid-May and planned its first roll call there for Monday, May 18, it said at the time. The city marked the finished Public Safety Facility, which also holds the Fire Department's headquarters, with a key ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 14. Mayor Shaunna O'Connell said the project was completed on time and more than $10 million under budget.

Work is underway on a new Weir Fire Station at 525 Somerset Ave., where the city held a ceremonial groundbreaking Oct. 6. Site work began in September on the approximately $12.2 million project, which is expected to be finished in August 2027. Dello Russo told the committee the East Taunton station is next in line after the Weir, with each station taking about two years, and that putting money into Summer Street would halt that progress.

The same committee also looked at the future of the former Central Fire Station at 50 School St. and the current Weir Street station at 530 Weir St., without taking a vote. Treasurer and Collector Christine DeMoranville showed how other Massachusetts communities have turned old fire stations into theaters, museums, restaurants and apartments. Dello Russo proposed first asking museums, theaters and other nonprofits whether they are interested, through a request for information that would stay open 90 days, and moving to a request for proposals if nothing came of it. Sanders said it could reach commercial interests too, and Duarte and Martin agreed with him to send it out more widely. Jay Pateakos, who leads the city's economic development office, said the people who have shown interest so far want a brewery or a distillery.

What happens next

• Proposals for 23 Summer St. are due Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2027, at 2 p.m., under RFP 27-121-10 on the City of Taunton's BidNet Direct page, where the details are open to registered users and the city offers a free registration option.
• The city has a separate sale open for 16 Benefit St., RFP 27-121-40, with proposals due Wednesday, Nov. 18.
• The new Weir Fire Station at 525 Somerset Ave. is expected to be finished in August 2027.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.