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Attention all contractors! The Winchester Affordable Housing Trust is looking for a qualified candidate interested in renovating the property at 160 Forest St.
The town has put out a Request for Information (RFI) for interested parties on Feb. 13 and AHT is ready to present the property. The deadline for the RFI is March 10.
AHT Chair Marty Jones said there are two pathways to the renovation: the conventional bidding process and the RFI, which essentially advertises for interested parties.
“The hope is that the contractor or developer will come into the process with a design,” she said. “We will then review and approve it.”
That’s a simplified version of the process. Jones said the town will still need to sign a land disposition agreement and oversee the process.
In the meantime, Jones said AHT will be providing tours for anyone interested in taking a look at the property.
“We’re not looking for prices or designs, but for interested people who are willing to take on the work,” Jones said.
She said there has been some outreach to local contractors and builders to see if there is interest.
“We’re not just looking for anyone,” Jones added. “We want a contractor who has done some home renovation, someone who knows the business.”
Should there be no interest from the RFI, Jones said the town will go the route of a traditional bidding process. That means hiring an architect for a design and putting the project out to bid.
But Jones is hoping someone out there will be interested in turning the property into a home.
“We’ve got the money and the green light,” Jones said. “All we need now is a contractor.”
History of the property
It’s been a long road getting to this stage of the development of 160 Forest St.
The property was left to the town by Martha Chase Rice in her will when she died in November 2020. Several complicated legal issues resulting from liens on the property slowed the transfer of the property.
In the fall of 2024, Town Meeting authorized the Select Board to accept the title of the house and restrict it for affordable housing.
The house is under a deed restriction that will forever make it affordable housing for buyers who qualify at 80% of the area median income, or approximately $132,000 for a family of four.
A look inside 160 Forest St., from the basement to the first and second floors. The town is looking for interested contractors to renovate the property. COURTESY PHOTOS/WINCHESTER AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST
The 1,624-square foot house is a 1938 Cape with three bedrooms, one full and one half bath that sits on a 10,694-square foot lot that also includes a deteriorating garage. The Assessor’s Office currently values the house at $952,200.
In the fall of 2025, Town Meeting authorized the transfer of $1.03 million from the Community Preservation Fund for several projects, including $350,000 for the Forest Street renovation.
Town Meeting also approved the authorization of the Select Board to “convey the care, custody, control and ownership” of the Forest Street property to AHT.
Nell Escobar Coakley has been a journalist for more than 30 years. She is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Gotta Know Medford and editor of Winchester News. She can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
