Empty East Milton Library Soon on the Market

The public library's East Milton branch shut down after 126 years of service when the Canton Avenue location reopened last year following extensive renovations. It now sits empty while town officials examine potential uses for the space and prepare to advertise for bids.

So far the Board of Selectmen, who took over the building after the Town Meeting in May, have heard only informal lease inquiries and have yet to put together a formal document seeking bids, according to Town Administrator Kevin Mearn.

Mearn said in an email that the queries the board has heard at this point have not been very specific. He estimated that after a casual meeting between the selectmen and neighbors, the board will advertise by late September or early October.

One informal inquiry was brought to the attention of Milton Patch by local real estate lawyer Kathleen O'Donnell, who lives just a few blocks from the library off Adams Street. One day recently, reading an article about incubator spaces for new businesses, she said the idea occurred to her that the unused library branch would be a perfect space for the kind of people she sees everyday at Starbucks, working on their laptops.

In February, O'Donnell started her own law practice after leaving a downtown firm. The first time she'd tried her hand at an independent practice, O'Donnell said she spent a lot of money leasing office space right away.

"This time I said I'm not going to do that," O'Donnell said. "It's the worst real estate recession in my lifetime."

But during the first week she realized the importance of professional space when setting up a meeting. She thought about inviting the client to her home, O'Donnell said, but then thought, "I don't think so," and went to Starbuck's instead.

O'Donnell's idea and other business-related ventures may not get very far with the town, though, based on zoning law and recent history.

Kidder, the third library branch at Blue Hills Parkway, reopened in the summer of 2007 to accomodate visitors who could not use the main building during construction.  In 2008, the trustees advertised the building for lease, library director Philip McNulty said, and its zoning was restricted to library use only, with an exemption for educational or religious groups. Discovery Schoolhouse, Inc., a non-profit with education programs for various ages, moved into the space.

The East Milton branch is also zoned for residential use, though it sits right next to one of the town's few business districts. As part of what Milton's zoning bylaws calls a "Residence C" district, the property can also be used for religious and educational purposes, limited agricultural functions, depending on the size of the lot, and in a non-housing municipal capacity.

Additionally, the property can be used in various other ways, with an assortment of restrictions, if the appeals board grants a special permit. Among those options: non-profit private clubs, cemeteries and hospitals and greenhouses that can sell Christmas trees only if they are grown off premises.

The yearly upkeep cost to the town for the building and its grounds is $6,000, Mearn said, and the Department of Public Works will continue to maintain the property until a lease is established.