Framingham Schools Lease At Perini Extended, Officials Say

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A temporary lease agreement between the Framingham School Department and the owners of the Perini building may clear the way for the city's plans to purchase the building.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Chair George King Jr. said the Perini owners had agreed to extend the schools lease through June. The lease expired on Feb. 1, leaving the School Department renting on a month-to-month basis.

The issue of the lease was stalling Mayor Yvonne Spicer's plans to purchase the Perini building. The City Council and School Committee had wanted a one-year lease extension during purchase negotiations. Spicer had asked the Council to approve a three-month extension, but that failed to pass.

The new short-term lease extension comes after a private meeting two weeks ago between the Perini owners, Spicer, School Committee members, and City Council.

Spicer in late June forwarded her proposal to buy the Perini building for $12.95 million to City Council. Most city offices at the Memorial Building, including the mayor's office, would move there. The city would borrow about $9.3 million and use about $3.2 million in existing funds for the purchase.

The purchase proposal is set to be discussed Thursday at the Framingham City Council Finance Subcommittee. If the purchase proposal passes that committee with a majority in support, it will move to the full Council for final approval.

Also at Tuesday's City Council meeting, Councilors voted 6-5 to convene a blue ribbon panel to study Framingham's building needs.