Methuen plans to purchase the historic estate of the late Edward F. Searles from the Sisters of Presentation of Mary and establish an independent commission to guide its future.
Methuen Mayor Neil Perry said Tuesday the city last Friday signed an agreement, subject to City Council approval, to buy the 19-acre parcel at 209 Lawrence St. It includes 12 historic buildings and structures and $1 million worth of artwork and historic artifacts, for $3.25 million. The property, used for Presentation of Mary Academy until it closed in 2020, has an assessed value of over $10 million.
“The City of Methuen has taken a major step toward ensuring that the most important piece of Methuen’s rich Gilded Age era of grand estates will not be lost to decay or unwelcome development, but rather preserved and restored for the benefit of future generations of Methuen residents,” Perry said in a release.
The mayor said a three-pronged plan includes property maintenance and planning oversight of the 19th century residence and estate of Searles, a prominent member of one of Methuen’s leading philanthropic families from America’s early industrial era.
Sisters of Presentation of Mary bought the property, originally comprising 25 acres, in 1957 to house the Sisters and establish Presentation of Mary Academy, a Catholic high school. After 2020, the Sisters subdivided the property and sold the southern six-acre portion, consisting mostly of newer academic buildings, as the new home of Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School.
Perry said he will ask councilors Aug. 5 for permission to use municipal bond financing and $200,000 for maintenance and security. An environmental assessment is being paid by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields grant. He said he will also work with the City Council to “bring in a group of independent citizens who have expertise and vision in areas that will result in the best and highest future use of the property, including historic preservation, architecture, real estate development and financing.”
As the Sisters have looked to sell the property, Perry said his administration would not support any development that would negatively impact or, worse, destroy the historic home and buildings on the property. He pointed out one private development plan called for demolition of the most historic portion of the estate and construction of several four-story garden style apartments.