Hersey House Arbitration Comes to a Close

The Hersey House arbitration came to a close Monday evening with the Town of Hingham told to pay developer Thomas Hasting  $547,000 for backing out of a deal to sell the historic property two years ago.

 The ruling came after five days of arbitration overseen by retired Judge Gordon Doerfer in Boston.  The judge heard arguments by counsel as to the legal rights of the parties.

The historic house on 229 North St., has been under litigation with the Hastings and the town since 2009 which includes a decade of dispute about the property. In an earlier interview,  Chairman Bruce Rabuffo said that in 2004 the town entered into an agreement with Hastings to put affordable housing units into the property and the design process that went with that caused changes in his initial proposal to occur.

 According to a release sent on Monday evening, the Town of Hingham was required to pay developer, Hatings  between $375,000  and  $1.1 million. The town already paid the minimum payment to Hastings in October, meaning it still must pay him an additional $172,000. Town officials feel that the total amount of $547,000 in litigation money is low compared to possible payments that could have meant $725,000 in payments to the developer.

 As a result of the agreement, Hastings will waive his claim to the Hersey House property. This comes a few weeks after Hingham selectmen agreed on selling the property to Lincoln Street

"We look forward to getting on with it," Rabuffo said Tuesday morning.

 According to the release sent out by the town, the arbitration had several advantages including an expedited schedule to conclude this dispute, “probably saving at least two years of litigation” and “saving both time and money.” 

 Hastings is a developer of Thomas J Hastings Properties and Hingham Square Townhomes LLC.

The Hersey House was donated to Hingham in 1948 by Ira Hersey Sr. In the past it had been used for school  and town services and was once used as Hingham’s  senior center.