ENFIELD — A neighbor of the old Enfield train depot has signed a lease agreement with the town for the property that sits across the street from his home.
Angus Durocher, 54, plans to use the space at 18 Depot St., which formerly housed the town’s EMS department and abuts the Northern Rail Trail, as a community gathering spot. He eventually plans to purchase the property.
Durocher said he expects to pay about $10,000 a year under the lease agreement, including insurance and utilities.
“I had a 30-year career as a software developer and I would love to share some of the skills that I learned through that,” Durocher said last week at the roughly 1,800-square-foot, wood-shingled building. “I would love to come up with projects — software projects especially — but hopefully a broad range of projects that would benefit the town.”
Those projects could include podcasts. Earlier this year, Durocher worked with town officials on a podcast about warrant articles ahead of Enfield Town Meeting and hopes to do more of that work in the space.
He’d also like to provide equipment for people who want to learn how to create a website or other technological skills. He’s also planning on holding office hours where people can stop by to ask questions about their computers.
The train depot opened to the public in July 1905 and was used as a train station until at least through the mid-1900s, town historian Marjorie Carr said. Afterward, a private oil company used it as a storage facility. The town bought the depot in 1995 and it housed the Enfield’s EMS department since the mid-1990s.
The EMS department moved out of the depot last June, when the town’s new $7.26 million public safety facility opened.
Durocher’s proposal was the only submission the Selectboard received when it put out a request for proposals for the depot last October, Enfield Town Manager Ed Morris said.
Even though it was the only proposal, town officials liked Durocher’s plan.
“It’s a great place for people to gather, learn technology, share different skill sets,” Morris said.
Durocher has long admired the old Enfield train depot that sits across from the home where he’s lived for about a decade. He became more interested in the depot about seven years ago when the town’s Municipal Facilities Advisory Committee was conducting a survey of town-owned buildings.
“I toured the place then and was blown away by how nice it is,” Durocher said.
While both parties would like Durocher to buy the building outright, a direct sale is complicated because the state of New Hampshire owns the land the depot sits on, a holdover from when the state bought it from the Boston and Maine Railroad in the mid-1990s.
“This is unique enough that we need something in the middle to give us time to get that land purchase completed before we complete the sale,” Morris said in a phone interview. Altogether, the purchase price would be around $100,000, which will cover the building and the land, he said.
Morris said that town officials will support Durocher as he works with the state to purchase the land parcel, which also includes the front yard of his home.
“Everything is offset to where the town is not paying anything,” Morris said.
Durocher is currently working on outfitting the space with furniture, but will hold off on any major improvements — such as a cooling system — until he officially owns the building. An oil furnace provides heat in the winter. There is also a bathroom and the depot is on the town’s water and sewer system.
Since the building is on the rail trail, he is planning on setting up a small bike repair station, including an air pump, and is interested in having some snowmobile tools available in the winter.
He’s also open to other suggestions. On June 1, he invited community members to the space and they wrote what they’d like to see there on a white board. A repair cafe, community literacy classes for older adults, a dog grooming station and an ice cream window were among the suggestions.
Carr, who is also a member of the town’s Heritage Commission, said she’s pleased with Durocher’s current plans for the depot.
“The fact that it’s going to be used for the community in that way is special,” she said. “I’m glad it’s being kept and not destroyed in any way.”
Durocher hopes to have some of the technology setup completed by this fall. He will be posting more information to enfielddepot.com.
“I think my number one goal was to make sure this wasn’t going to become a Burger King or something,” Durocher said. “My house was actually built for the station agent to basically take care of the depot and I love the idea that I’m going to be taking care of the depot again after 100 years.”
