Hoping to boost housing production in the state, the Gov. Maura Healey Administration has auctioned off four Central Massachusetts state-owned properties to private developers to convert the sites into housing.
State-owned properties in Westborough, Northborough, Templeton, and Phillipston were auctioned Wednesday in the first of a series of auctions under Healey’s State Land for Homes initiative, which seeks to turn underutilized state parcels into housing developments.
The four properties sold were:
- Lyman St., Westborough – A 5.84-acre property containing a mix of open fields and trees sold for $1.13 million.
- 0 Lyman St., Northborough – Located about a half-mile north of the Westborough site, this 5.45-acre site sold for $550,000.
- 0 Royalston Road, Templeton – A former group home located on a 5.8-acre parcel sold for $265,000.
- 461 Freight Shed Road, Phillipston – A former group home located on a 4.6-acre parcel sold for $80,000.
A 2.5-acre wooded parcel in Wilmington was also included in this round of auctions, selling for $625,000, according to a Sep. 12 press release from the Division of Capital Asset Management & Maintenance, which worked with JJ Manning Auctioneers of Yarmouth to sell the sites.
The buyers of the sites have a 30-day due diligence period, and their identities have not been revealed yet.
“This auction is an important milestone in our efforts to make state-owned land available for housing development, so we can get more reasonably priced homes built more quickly in this state,” Healey said in the press release. “I’m proud of the team at DCAMM for the progress they have been making on our State Land for Homes Initiative, from putting vacant lots in Bridgewater and Bedford out to bid to hosting this successful auction, and I’m grateful for all of the developers who have stepped up to build on these lands.”
The deeds for the sale of the properties restrict future development at the sites to residential uses.
Eric Casey is the managing editor at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the manufacturing and real estate industries.
