Milton residents and town officials gathered at the Milton Art Center on Monday night to weigh the fate of the soon-to-be-vacant East Milton Fire Station, a process complicated by nearly $1 million in outstanding debt and significant structural challenges. With a new fire station currently under construction at 432 Adams Street and slated for completion by next fall, the town must now decide whether to sell the historic 1950s building to recoup costs or retain it as a community asset.

Town Administrator Nicholas Milano opened the visioning session by clarifying that the current station will no longer be functional for the fire department once the move is finalized. Any future use will involve a public process, whether it's a sale or lease, Milano told the capacity crowd. The Select Board will have to decide if they want the best price or if they want to put restrictions on the use. If people think it should remain a town asset, we want to hear those ideas too, considering cost and access.

The financial stakes of the decision were underscored by Select Board member Richard Wells, who detailed the funding history of the fire department’s relocation. Wells explained that the town was required to borrow $960,000 specifically to purchase the land for the new Adams Street station. I believe we owe that money back to the town, Wells said, noting that early estimates valued the old station property between $800,000 and $1 million. We still have to build the station for the West Side and we are out of money. If we sell this and meet a vision, that money could go toward finishing the project for the other side of town.

Beyond the initial debt, the cost of bringing the aging structure up to modern standards remains a major hurdle. Fire Chief Chris Madden described the building, originally designed as a 1950s bomb shelter, as exceptionally sturdy but technically deficient. It’s a garage with one usable floor above, Madden said, noting that the apparatus bay floor is already cracking and the facility requires complete upgrades for electrical, plumbing, and IT systems. Milano added that public construction costs are currently hovering around $1,000 per square foot, while a resident estimated that renovations including ADA-compliant bathrooms and hazardous material abatement could cost the town between $2 million and $3 million.

Facilitators Javier Gutierrez and Sasha Proy from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) led attendees through a series of brainstorming exercises to identify preferred uses for the site. Gutierrez encouraged the group to bring a spirit of experimentation and creativity to the discussion, while Proy managed a scoring system for resident proposals. The highest-rated ideas included a town-owned commercial building that maintains the original character, followed closely by a brewery, a bakery or cafe, and co-working spaces.

Public feedback was diverse, ranging from commercial aspirations to historical preservation. Resident Mark Cronin suggested that any redevelopment should follow models seen in European cities or Boston, where historic firehouse facades are preserved even as the interiors are converted into modern spaces. Other residents expressed a desire for a bookstore, a community teaching kitchen, or a museum honoring the Granite Railroad. However, some attendees urged caution regarding the town's limited parking and the influx of 92 new residential units coming to the neighborhood.

Not everyone was sold on the "visioning" nature of the meeting. One resident noted that without concrete data on traffic impacts or exact renovation costs, the session felt more like a dreaming session than a practical planning meeting. Another resident argued against selling the property at all, stating, Once you lose land in that location, it won't come your way again. I’m hesitant to unload the property. When asked if Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds could be used to offset renovation costs, Milano noted that CPA money is generally reserved for new assets rather than existing town buildings.

The meeting was attended by Select Board Chair Denise Winston-Daly, Select Board member John Driscoll, and Brian Walsh of the Fire Station Building Committee. While no formal decisions were made, Milano indicated that the feedback would be presented to the Select Board for further review. Our next meeting is November 18th, Milano said in his closing remarks. We want to have a game plan so we don't have a vacant, boarded-up building in the heart of the square.