FARMINGTON — A piece of land, one described as a gateway to the community, will remain under town ownership for now. Selectmen agreed last week to keep it.

The board reviewed an appraisal of the former town garage lot at 411 High St., located at the intersection of High Street and Routes 2 and 27, also known as the Farmington Falls Road.

They unanimously agreed to add a warrant article to the annual March town meeting. The article will ask voters to give the board the right to sell or dispose of the property, starting a public dicussion about its future.

Earlier this month, the board agreed to ask Thomas Mellen of Property Appraisal Services to inspect the property and give the town an idea of the value on the approximately 1.51 acre lot.

Mellen studied the level, cleared lot with an existing garage and frontage on both High Street and the Farmington Falls Road and gave it a current market value of $58,000. Given the current economic climate, he believed the best use of the lot would be for residential purposes, he wrote in the report.

Mellen compared the lot to other nearby residential lots on Farmington Falls Road, Davis Road, Granite Heights and Temple Road.

Board of Selectmen Chairman Ryan Morgan questioned the decision to classify the lot as residential instead of commercial and suggested retaining the lot for the time being. He preferred to “not let the property go for that,” he said.

Situated in a mostly residential area, Mellen felt most new businesses would seek a Wilton Road location where traffic counts are highest and most other new businesses have located in recent years, Town Manager Richard Davis said.

As a town-owned property, the board had considered potential ways to change its tax-exempt status.

At some point, it would be good to brainstorm a use for the lot, Davis said. He suggested researching the potential for a gateway grant, perhaps for a park of some other use.

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