The buyer of the former Peace Abbey site said he hopes to create a senior living community at the North Main Street property.
Bob Murchison, who acquired the land for $1 million, said he is currently in talks with town officials about his plan, which also involves keeping the original buildings and memorials at the site intact.
"I'm going to be a custodian of the property, more than an owner," the Sherborn resident said. "It's my job to take care of it."
The 2-1/2-acre parcel had been home since 1988 to the Peace Abbey, which maintained a retreat center there that was visited by people from all over the world. The sale of the property will help founder Lewis Randa pay off the mortgage and re-compensate his shareholders.
Most of the multi-faith center's holdings have been transferred to UMass Boston's Healey Library, where they have been incorporated into the school's new Center and Archives for Peace, Social Action, Public Policy, and the Arts.
Murchison, an investor who co-founded his own investment company, Fenix Partners, in 2009, said he first took interest in the Sherborn site nearly a year ago. In particular he said he appreciated the property's unique history and the architectural style of the buildings.
"This isn't a situation where a developer has a fixed, this-is-what-I'm-doing plan," he said. "I live in town, I know a lot of the people, and we're having a lot of conversations. I'm hoping it will be a lot of fun to create something that adds to the history of the property in a really positive way."
With the Woodhaven senior housing complex right next to the site, Murchison said he felt it made sense to add to the neighborhood. On Thursday he said he didn't yet know how many units he would like to build , but envisioned them as townhome-style.
In addition, Murchison said he is discussing with Sherborn officials a proposal to repurpose the existing buildings into service centers for the elderly. One idea, for instance, is to turn the former library into a senior center.
His overall plan, he said, "I think lines up with what a lot of people would like to see in town generally."
According to the minutes of the Sherborn Planning Board's Dec. 5 meeting, a recent survey of residents found about two-thirds of roughly 500 respondents favored the idea of a senior community in town, for example. The board has also supported putting a placeholder article on the warrant for Sherborn's Town Meeting seeking the rezoning and property conveyance necessary to execute Murchison's proposal.
Calls to Sherborn's Town Planner, Gino Carlucci, Planning Board Chairman John Higley, and several other board members were not returned before presstime on Thursday. Assistant Town Administrator Diane Moores also could not be reached.
Randa, meanwhile, said earlier this week his focus will return primarily to his Life Experience School in Millis that preceded the Peace Abbey. But not all traces of the center will be removed from the Sherborn property - Murchison said he has worked out an agreement with Randa to continue to keep statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Emily the cow there along with several peace memorials.
"Lewis did a lot of great things on that property for 24 years," he said.
?Scott O'Connell can be reached at 508-626-4449 or soconnell@wickedlocal.com
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