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The city of Stamford will purchase the property at 713 Bedford St. and relocate the historic Hoyt-Barnum House to 1508 High Ridge Road, Mayor David Martin announced last week.
The agreement is the final step in securing the full site for the construction of the new police headquarters. It will be submitted to the Planning Board, Board of Finance and Board of Representatives for consideration and approval.
All three boards last month approved the purchase of the other property, at 671 Bedford St., that is required for the police headquarters project.
“I am pleased that we have been able to make such significant progress in such a short period of time and thank the Stamford Historical Society for their cooperation throughout this process," Martin said. "This agreement allows us to move forward with the building of our new police headquarters and at the same time preserves an important feature of Stamford’s history.”
Pam Coleman, chairman of the Board of the Stamford Historical Society, added that the agreement “provides the Historical Society with the opportunity to enhance our community offerings. The Society is pleased that we were able to assist the City with this much-needed project.”
As part of the Memorandum of Agreement, the city will purchase the property from the Stamford Historical Society for $200,000. In addition, the City will fund the costs of relocating the Hoyt Barnum House and making repairs and renovations to the city property at 1508 High Ridge Road.
The city and the Historical Society expect visitor traffic to the Hoyt-Barnum House will increase as a result of the relocation due to the site's proximity to the Stamford Museum & Nature Center and Historical Society’s current programming.
In addition, the agreement contains provisions for the careful dis-assembly, move, and reassembly of the house; archiving and relocating of interior artifacts; and archaeological excavation of the site. The dis-assembly of the house is expected to begin by June 1.
The move is an essential step in building a new headquarters to replace the aging building at the adjacent property at 805 Bedford St. Asbestos was found at the building, leading to health concerns by police officers.
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