Groton — The city will focus on the use of the property, rather than just the purchase price, in disposing of the 1782 Mother Bailey House at 108 Thames St. and an adjacent lot at 0 Broad St.

The city voted earlier this month to declare the parcels as surplus property. City Mayor Keith Hedrick said that although he and the City Council want to save the house, taxpayers don't want to spend any more money on it. The Friends of the Mother Bailey House Foundation have raised $10,000, but not enough to fully rehabilitate the home.

The white colonial house was built in 1782 for Dr. Amos Prentice, who tended the wounded after the Sept. 6, 1781, massacre at Fort Griswold. It was later purchased by Elijah and Anna Warner Bailey, the latter of whom had helped the doctor tend the wounded. 

Hedrick said at Monday's Committee of the Whole meeting that the city will move forward with developing a Request for Proposals or Request for Qualifications similar to the Groton Heights School.

"That way it's an open proposition and we'll take solicitations and look at them," he said, adding that if the city doesn't like any of the bids it receives, it can issue another RFP.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the city draft language that "facilitates the sale of the property to a responsible and qualified entity, preferably with experience in adaptive reuse of historic properties similar with characteristics to 108 Thames Street and preferably through a Request for Proposal/Qualifications process." Adaptive reuse typically means keeping the building and renovating it for another purpose, City Planner Dennis Goderre said.

"During the sale process, consideration should be given, as may be practical, to the historic nature of the property and its prominence to the Thames Street area," the commission further recommended.

Goderre said the city's Real Estate Committee also came to a consensus that the city's next steps would be to advertise through an RFP process and outline criteria to ensure proposals from qualified individuals who have the resources to do something meaningful with the property.

Councilor Jill Rusk asked if the city would add language that would give consideration to the reuse of the house rather than demolition. Hedrick said the city can put in whatever wording it needs to and will also get attorneys involved to ensure the city's interests are protected.

Hedrick also recommended moving forward with the first part of a proposal to study the building's materials, which will inform bidders on remediation costs.

The study is slated to be on the agenda for the Feb. 4 Mayor and City Council meeting.

He recommended against studying the possible demolition of the house and the permits it would require because he didn't want to give the appearance that the city was just waiting for demolition to happen. He has maintained that demolition is the last resort.

k.drelich@theday.com