In a unanimous decision made at the August 6 regular evening meeting, the Jackson Town Council moved to purchase land and buildings located across the street from the current Town Hall to be used for a mix of employee rental units and office space. The space, located at 145 and 155 East Pearl Avenue, was purchased from Willow Street Partners for the amount of $4,625,000.
There are currently four buildings on the property, including the historic “Josiah Ferrin House” which was built in 1914 by Charlie Fox in an effort to entice Dr. Charles Huff to move to Jackson to begin his practice. Si and Edith Ferrin along with their nine children eventually moved into this house on the property. Today, the property hosts a mixture of office and residential space.
“This is going to be a significant investment in the future of the Town of Jackson organization and it addresses short, medium and long term needs for more space,” said Councilman Jim Stanford. “It also comes with a mix of residential and office potential which will help us fill a variety of needs.”
The current Town Hall, which is located at 150 East Pearl Avenue, was built 32 years ago in 1986. At a time of construction, the Town Hall housed a smaller number of employees serving a smaller community population. Since that time much has changed in the town and there has been an increase in the level of services requested by citizens and provided by the town organization.
No immediate decisions have been made regarding the exact use of the space. According to Town Manager, Larry Pardee, an internal assessment will be conducted in the near future to determine best uses for the space. These uses may include moving Town personnel into some of the office space, opening a community meeting space, renting out some of the area to commercial operations and housing town employees. According to Pardee, “There are a wide range of options for the use of this space and this acquisition positions the Town for the future.”
Councilman Don Frank indicated that this purchase was wise and timely. “We do have an obligation to try and plan for the future and we’d be remiss if we did not secure convenient property towards what ultimately must be an organization that continues to meet the service needs of the community and those service needs are increasing.”
According to the purchase offer and acceptance agreement, the closing date on the property has been set for on or before October 4, 2018.
For the official press release on the Town of Jackson’s website please click here.
Town Secures Pearl Street Property
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