To the editor:

Friends of Historic Bristol (FHB) is questioning the gross square footage of The Yarn Mill Project and trying to pressure the Planning Board into a new look at the project.

The square footage of the Mill has appeared in town records for years as 296,717 s.f. and is the basis on which the Mill’s owners have long paid their real estate taxes.

The developer has chosen to “cut out” portions of the floor in order to increase the ceiling height in the garage. This does not cause the gross square footage to disappear. In fact, the town’s tax rolls would continue to show this as usable square footage as it’s within the envelope of the building and part of the “common space” allocated to all units.

Given this, one wonders at what action the owners can take to recapture past taxes paid on the Mill, if the FHB claims the Mill is only 227,286 s.f. and the Planning Board agrees with that flawed logic?
The average tax per square foot in Bristol on high end waterfront residences is $5.40 per square foot per year. So, the gross difference between those measurements of about 69,000 + s.f. would cost the Town of Bristol approximately $374,900 in taxes per year.

Perhaps Friends of Historic Bristol could do some fundraising on behalf of Bristol residents to make up for that $374,900 in lost tax revenue?
This issue caused me to reflect on the work of FHB:

• The group opposed the expansion of The Belvedere project to bring new high end apartments to the heart of our downtown. As a result of that project not going forward, the Town is missing out on thousands of dollars in new tax revenue and merchants are missing out on new residents buying from shop owners, restaurants, salons etc. and missing the generous donations to our museums and other charities affluent residents make.
• The group’s leadership appears to consist of people who have relocated to Bristol recently and appear to be focused on preventing new development in our town.
• Had the group been formed, it surely would have opposed the redevelopment and new construction of Stone Harbour, a project which has added hundreds of thousands of new real estate tax revenue to Bristol.

For years, I worked in commercial real estate finance and it appears that this group is somewhat naïve in understanding the cost of infrastructure for a major project like The Yarn Mill and appears to focus on minimizing the number of units, rather than ensuring a successful addition to our town.

Personally, I would much prefer 127 units, or even more, with the added revenue from those units ensuring high quality construction and attractive landscaping and amenities.

I applaud the Planning Board’s approval of this project and hope that the project moves forward.

Sincerely,
Georgina Macdonald
Ferry Road