A security company is seeking tax breaks from the City of Lawrence to redevelop a downtown building into its office space. City commissioners will consider the request Tuesday.
Alarm.com initially planned to redevelop part of the former newspaper printing press building at 630 Massachusetts St. for its headquarters, but the building was “determined not to be a suitable fit for the proposed project,” attorneys wrote in a memo to the commission.
Instead, the company now seeks to redevelop the building at 714 Vermont St., which was formerly home to Climb Lawrence. The climbing gym closed its doors in May.
City commissioners have since voted to approve the city purchasing 630 Massachusetts St., as well as 609 New Hampshire St., for $2.1 million, to potentially use as a City Hall annex. (Read more about that in this article.)
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The 714 Vermont St. building’s 13,834 square feet of office space would provide enough room for Alarm.com’s roughly three dozen current employees, plus an additional 30 positions associated with the proposed expansion, according to the meeting agenda item.
“The project is anticipated to support continued investment in Downtown Lawrence while expanding the community’s high-wage employment base, with average salaries estimated at approximately $90,000 annually,” according to the agenda.
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Developers had asked the city to create a Neighborhood Revitalization Area that would provide a 95% property tax rebate for 15 years, as well as industrial revenue bonds to receive sales tax exemptions for construction materials.
However, “Following review of the project, redevelopment costs, adaptive reuse considerations, and financial analysis,” city staff members are recommending the NRA be for an 80% property tax rebate for up to 10 years.
“Based on current assessed valuation assumptions, the 2025 City mill levy, and an assumed 3% annual valuation growth rate, the City of Lawrence’s estimated portion of the NRA rebate over a 10-year term at 80% is approximately ~$162,000,” according to the meeting agenda. “Actual rebate amounts would vary based on future assessed valuation changes and mill levy adjustments.”
The IRB is estimated to cost the city about $4,100 in sales tax revenue, according to the agenda.
City commissioners on Tuesday will hold a public hearing on the tax incentive request, then vote on whether to approve them, according to the agenda.
Meeting info
Lawrence city commissioners will meet starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 9 at Lawrence City Hall, 6 E. Sixth St.
The meeting will open with 45 minutes of public comment, the first meeting under a changed format the commission approved last month, before they begin the regular meeting agenda at 5:45 p.m. General public comment will be at the beginnings of the commission’s second meetings of each month.
The commission accepts written public comment emailed to [email protected] until noon the day of meetings. The commission also hears live public comment during meetings, both in person and virtually.
City commission meetings are no longer livestreamed on YouTube. In order to watch the meeting online remotely, attendees must join via Zoom at this link, which also allows participants to provide public comment virtually. Meeting recordings are uploaded to the city’s YouTube channel the next day.
See the commission’s complete meeting agenda at this link. See the 714 Vermont St. agenda item at this link.
Commissioners will also consider selling the parking lot at 711 New Hampshire St. to affordable housing developers seeking to construct 94 income-restricted apartments for folks ages 55 and up. Read more about that at this link.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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