Select Board Awards Hawthorne Lease, 4-1

Select Board · Meeting of March 4, 2026

Swampscott Select Board awarded a 30-month Hawthorne-by-the-Sea lease to the Swampscott Center for the Performing Arts in a 4-1 vote. The decision followed confusion over the nonprofit's finances: representative Johnny Ray clarified that a "$1 million financing commitment" cited in its proposal was not a $1 million capital investment but included only $600,000 in year-one capital spending. Resident Brian Watson told the board a $2 million demolition placeholder in the town's capital plan was inflated, estimating real costs near $500,000.

Select Board member Danielle Leonard warned the town, as landlord of a building it bought for $7 million, faces real risk "if the roof caves in." The lease runs through June 30, 2028.

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Source: the Select Board meeting of March 4, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.