Conference 7.286::digital

Maybe the current occupants should just remain, then.  ;-)

    Hey, maybe Ken will get the last laugh and come back to the 
    Mill after all!
    
    Steve

    I didn't read the article, but there's also a rumor that we will
    continue to rent part of the Mill for office space.  So, the new owners
    *will* have ready-made tennants.
    
    Jim

    Having just vacated my office in the Mill last week, that's the 'rumor
    we'd heard;
    
      ** SOLD to some elder-care provider, who will start occupying ML21
         ML01 first, and then expand outward,
    
      ** Digital wanted to lease ML05 for 5 years, but they could only get
         it for two years,
    
      ** Supposedly, we have unitl the end of August to move out folks out
         of ML1, and ML21.
    
      ** Supposedly, the new owner has a contract with someone to install
         people elevators as soon as each building becomes available.
    
      ** Suppoesedly, the new owner wants to demo several buildings so they
         can build a parking garage.
    
    There's too much consistency to these statements to think of them as
    only rumors...but I have NO written proof of any of it.
    
    Regards
    Dick 
    

    I'll go out on a limb with a prediction: the Mill burns to the ground
    within a year of being turned into housing for the elderly.  kb

I agree with .5 - it will probably be cheaper to build all new buildings than to
get the mill up to the accessibility standards required for elderly housing.

Unless the rumored owner is getting lots of HUD $$ to
do the renovation. IF this rumor is true the only way
it is going to be turned into elderly housing is with
lots of federal money.

    Don't be too quick to underestimate the power of the senior citizens.
    They are the richest segment of the US population.  And their numbers
    are growing due to their longevity.  When the 76 million baby boomers
    hit retiree age, seniors will be the largest age group in the US.
    
    Don't believe seniors are rich?  Just look at the cars they drive.
    A special on 20/20 a few months ago exposed and put to rest the myths
    of the little old, poor senior citizen.
    
    I am not surprised the mill will be used for this purpose.  People can
    make a lot of money catering to the seniors.  That's why they get so
    many discounts (they don't need them), but there is a lot of them with
    deep pockets and plenty of time to spend their dough in.

Re: .8

That's a pretty broad brush you paint with there. Those that
invested/saved probably have some money, those that foolishly believed
that US Social Security alone would take care of them are suffering now.

Lee

    re .13:
    
    What's going on here is really very simple, and happens every now and
    then in lots of different notes files.  Here's what it looks like to me:
    
    Person A made a political diatribe with no supporting facts included.
    
    Person B pointed out that this notes file is not the place for political 
    diatribes, though there is a place where this is welcome.  DIGITAL is 
    for comments (and sometimes diatribes) that directly relate to Digital.
    
    Person C didn't see anything wrong with including political
    diatribes in this conference, or maybe didn't think that a 
    non-moderator should comment on what's appropriate, and therefore 
    made an offensive personal remark to get this point across.
    
    And the rest of us wait for it to die down so that we can go back
    to talking about Digital in the Digital notes file.  Just some of
    the chaff that one has to wade through, less interesting than the
    long strings about sporks etc. and what TFSO really stands for.
    
    	Larry

        Franklin Lifecare Corp. to purchase Digital's Mill complex
   
         Franklin Lifecare Corp. and Digital today announced that they 
   have signed a purchase and sale agreement for the Mill complex located 
   at 146 Main Street in Maynard, Mass. 
         Franklin Lifecare Corp. is a for-profit, Massachusetts-based 
   company that was formed specifically to create an integrated elder care 
   campus at the Mill site. 
         The campus, which will be renamed Mill Pond Village, is expected 
   to be developed in accordance with a master plan that would ultimately 
   provide housing, health care, education and medical research services 
   for the elderly. The development of Mill Pond Village is projected to 
   take five years and cost between $20 million and $50 million.
         Digital and Franklin Lifecare expect to close on the purchase of 
   the site by early November. Current Mill employees will continue to be 
   relocated to other Digital-owned facilities with the expectation that 
   two-thirds of the Mill will be vacated by the end of December.  The 
   company has arranged to lease back space from Franklin Lifecare during 
   the interim.
         "The Mill has played an important role in the history of both the 
   town of Maynard and Digital," said Nancy Salustro, Digital's Mill Reuse 
   Program manager. "It has had two full and useful business lives: first, 
   as a source of production for the Assabet Mills and American Woolen 
   Co. and second, as headquarters for Digital Equipment Corp.  We are 
   pleased that this ambitious project will introduce yet another use for 
   these buildings."
         Anthony J. Bongiorno, president and CEO of Franklin Lifecare 
   Corp. commented, "We are very excited to have acquired the Mill 
   property for this development. The principals of Franklin Lifecare 
   bring years of experience and expertise in the areas of real estate 
   development and construction, project financing and health care 
   services to this project. But just as important, we are an organization 
   composed of individuals with roots in this area. As a result, we are 
   sensitive to the traditional values and needs of the town of Maynard 
   and we are proud to embark upon this project that will bring a new use 
   to the Mill site by creating a residential village that will also serve 
   as a center for a continuum of specialized elder services." 

                       FOR DIGITAL INTERNAL USE ONLY

Hmm - I feel sorry for the new tenants trying to find their way through the
complex.  It's hard enough as it is, what with the "maze of twisty passages"
and the staircases.

					Steve

    What new tenants?  :-)

    
    I don't see what the big deal is.  The place has been filled with
    geriatrics for years.
    
    ;>)

  I have two concerns about this. I fear that this newly-formed company may 
have bitten off more than it can chew, and that Maynard may be stuck with an
abandoned mill in a few years, just what they were trying to avoid. Converting
an old mill of this size to an entirely different use is a HUGE task.
  My other fear is about fire. There was a discussion here a few years ago
about the risk of people being trapped if there was a major fire in the Mill.
At the time, I said that I thought the employees would be safe because they
are not sleeping there (most of the time :-)) and would be able to get out
quickly when the fire alarms sound. For elderly people living there, the
hazard is greater. I know that many old mills in New England have been con-
verted to housing for the elderly or non-elderly, and none have burned down
after people had moved in. But I'm still a little nervous about it.

    I find the part about modifications to the Mill interesting because I
    remember back to when I started with the company at the Mill (1980),
    that it was mentioned that the Mill is a registered historical monument
    which qualified it for a huge portion of the revamp to be paid by the
    government. Maybe the new owners struck the same kind of deal.

For the record, the Maynard Mill complex...including the Clock Tower
...is NOT on the national list of historic places!  

This was quite a revelation to me, too, as I was involved with the
Mill Tours and Clock Centennial Celebration.

--Nick

    
    reference .20
    
    1.     All start up companies are a big risk, If Tom Edison did not take
    risk I would not be using the telephone; and I might have to use my
    computer in the dark. ( abacus that is)(first hand held computer).
    
    
    2.     I believe the state fire marshall is involved with this, I just
           called and the building has been inspected and they would like
           to call if you have a real concern.
    
    bob c

        Perhaps the Mill *will* be the site of the next industrial
        revolution:  the next revolution may well be implemented by
        workers working in their homes, and the elderly are the
        fastest-growing demographic group, and will probably need
        supplemental income as social security trends play out.

        Bob

RE: 23
    
>    1.     All start up companies are a big risk, If Tom Edison did not take
>    risk I would not be using the telephone; and I might have to use my
>    computer in the dark. ( abacus that is)(first hand held computer).
    
Gee, is Alexander G. Bell going to have to pay back all that patent money?

:>)

(I'm sure I know what you meant, but couldn't help it)

    
    
     I know but I could not resist responding to mine either; after being
    involved in two startup companies, I just could not resist.
    
    
    bc
    	

    
       I believe the Mill was kept off the historic register by some
    far thinking individual(s)...  I believe that some of the site will
    probably be razed and that if they are going to poor $20-50 million
    over 2-5 yrs I'm sure they will be able to address the life safety
    issues (esp. if the town stays on its toes).
    
      As for success (longevity) that will have to be seen.
    
              Mark

    
>       I believe the Mill was kept off the historic register by some
>    far thinking individual(s)...

  Yes, I think Digital and the town did the right thing by keeping the Mill off
the historic register. If it had been listed, Digital might have gotten some
federal grants and/or tax deductions for the renovation (not a huge amount, 
IMO), but Uncle Sam would have put all sorts of restrictions on the renovations,
which would probably have canceled out the finanical benefits of being listed.
The same probably goes for the new owners. 

>  I believe that some of the site will
>    probably be razed

  Not any of the truly historic buildings, I hope.

  Re the risk of a startup company: Yes, every startup is a risk, but most
startups start with a small rented or owned facility and acquire more space
as they grow. Franklin Healthcare is starting with ownership of a huge facility
(partly offset by renting out some space to Digital) and a huge renovation
expense before they can use the space. If this were a publicly traded company
(which I don't think it is), I would be VERY uneasy about buying stock in it
at this phase, far more so than buying stock in a local high-tech startup.

    
    Silicon Graphics' new campus is going up on Shoreline Dr. 
    in Mt. View, and its sure to be featured in the design rags.
    
    The Mill will never be in any magazine unless in conjuction
    with a story about "troubled Digital Eq.".
    

    
    How do you know the mill will never be covered in any magazine! That
    appears to be a fairly strong statement considering the history 
    behind the mill, Yes, it did have a long history before digital.
    
    Did you know that the mill made cloth for the uniforms for both the
    confederate and Union Armys during the great war of Northern Aggression?
    
    Bob Cansler 
    
    

    great war of northern aggression?
    
    musta been when the 20th Maine closed the bridge to Kittery
    at the height of foliage season.
            

    
    I knew someone would go for it.....
    

>    great war of northern aggression?
>    
>    musta been when the 20th Maine closed the bridge to Kittery
>    at the height of foliage season.
    
    No, no, no, no, no.  It was what y'all call the Civil War.  Only
    Yankees could possibly come up with that name.  Lincoln and Grant musta
    debated it for hours.  "Ulysses, I'd like to call it 'The Right
    Friendly War'"..."No, Mr. Lincoln, it ain't right friendly, but seein'
    as how's they's family on both sides, we could say it's at least
    Civil'"  Thus it was named.
    
    The Manson-Nixon line was quickly established, at which point the South
    pointed out to the North that "It's gonna be an awful uncomfortable
    winter up there without any clothes", whereupon the North responded
    "What?  Macy's is closed?!?", and the South pointed out that "No, but
    ain't nothin' grows up there but goose bumps, 'specially not cotton."
    
    Thus, the war commenced, and the North quickly found out that several
    thousand boys from Yonkers could shoot basketballs, but not rifles. 
    After suffering severe defeat for three years (I'm tellin' the truth
    here, kids), the Yanks were in desperate need of a) new socks, b)
    something that actually passed for food (I've dined in New
    Hamster...bleck!).
    
    They got a new general, General "Scorched Earth" Sherman, at which
    point the name of this whole engagement became more of an oxymoron. 
    Predating the Viet Minh, Baader Meinhof, the IRA, and the PLO by a
    hundred years, the right General Sherman defoliated, burned, raped,
    pillaged, and murdered his way down through Atlanta, careful that
    whatever the Yanks didn't eat, they destroyed.  This tiny breach of
    etiquette, now illegal under the Geneva conventions, served to put an
    end to phase one of Northern Aggression.
    
    Phase II was to last for another hundred years, as different puddles of
    the same Yankee genetic gene pool did their best to ensure that ALL
    southerners, regardless of race, sex, or which Baptist church they
    belonged to, were kept as poor as was possible without an International
    Rights Group protesting.
    
    Northern Aggression continues, especially in certain notesfiles, but
    has been reduced mainly to whining about rascism in the South.  We
    assume, of course, they mean South Boston, judging by the news and a
    brief on-site visit, but are unsure.  The tide turned as the South
    discovered these important facts, previously overlooked:
    
    a) We've got Florida.  Yankees are like elephants, when they get old
    they want to lumber away somewhere and croak.  That place is Florida.
    
    b) We've got food.  You'll see many Mexican and Tex-Mex and Southern
    restaurants dotting the country, but will be hard-pressed to find "Good
    Bronx Cooking" or "New Hamster Delicatessans" anywhere (especially down
    here).
    
    c) We've got oil.  Sure, the Yankees got all the steel, but that
    making a car ain't worth a lot lessen you can DRIVE it somewhat decent
    to eat (see "b", above).
    
    d) We've got Presidents.  Lots of 'em.  Startin' with Johnson, we
    figured the easiest way to end the last vestiges of Northern Aggression
    was to take over the damn country, so we did.  Johnson (who did more
    for civil rights than Kennedy), Carter (who doesn't realize he's no
    longer in charge of foreign policy, but we're afraid to tell 'im),
    Bush (who inherited the Reaganomics mess and showed Iraq what
    "military-industrial-complex" meant), and Clinton (she's done a fine
    job :^], gays finally were told "hey, you're citizens, too!", and Jerry
    Falwell was told to go home...all backdropped by a booming economy).
    
    e) No one has ever said "Oooh, Honey!  Let's go to Siberia for
    Christmas vacation!".  No, no, Yankees go "Goddamn!  I've been freezin'
    for 4 months, I can't find the car, I'm goin' to (pick one: Myrtle
    Beach, Key Largo, Galveston).
    
    This is just to welcome all y'all Yankees to the South.  Our motto:
    "Bring that Union dollar, and help keep the South green!".  Now, if
    anyone else has any historical (or hysterical) questions, y'all just
    ask.  We'll keep the light on for ya.
    
    							Tex
    your'n), Carter, (Reagan was your'n)

       
    What is this ya'll crap; as a graduate of THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH
    CAROLINA  (not to be confused with Clemson you left your tractor lights
    on University) and Georgia Tech. I do not think much of your statements 
    or your abuse of the English language.  :)
    :)  :)      :)   :)
    
    
    please note the smiley faces!!!!!!!!  :)
    
    bob
    

re: .33

Tex, you're one good ole boy who's in the wrong bidness. If us tech
writers (pardon, SES Resources, aka Information Providers) weren't about
to be Planfully Outsourced, we'd take y'all out for a New Hamster meal
and make you an honorary writer.  Your History 101 will go into my
collection.

On second thought, we'd just buy y'all a beer. I'm one (present) Yankee
who has chased minners barefoot in a crick in western Oklahoma, driven a
dusty pickup with red clay on the wheels and one taillight kicked out in
Texas and Oklahoma, and I have to agree with you, there isn't ANYPLACE up
here that knows what a real steak is.  All they want do up here is eat
rice cakes and veggie pockets, and sip a chilled white wine with their
pinkies tastefully poised.

Art
(Who lived in the great southwest but now resides in New Hamster)

>  <<< Note 3113.33 by DPDMAI::EYSTER "Fluoride&Prozac/NoCavities/No prob!" >>>
>
> (Reagan was your'n)

    Funny, I've always thought so too, but I spelled it differently.

	;-)

    Bush wasn't a Suth'ner, he was a yankee immigrant.
    
    ed

    Yankees? New Hampster?
    
    Didn't anyone ever tell you that the southern end of New England
    lies at the northern limits of Brunswick, Maine (erosion from tourists
    moves that line north every year....)? Everything south of
    there is New York City or something like that. And to those with
    colder toes than our Southern comrades in geographic bigotry, but
    no less devotion to the cause, there aint no Yankees except in
    New England.
    
    (Pls note that the Bush home is SOUTH of the line! Yankee, indeed....
    Harumph!)
    
    
    bk

>Sherman burned his way through Atlanta

Looks like you got your history from "Gone with the Wind".

In fact, the Confederate General set Atlanta on fire before he evacuated
the city, in order to be sure that the Union Army didn't get the provisions.

However, Sherman did burn his way from Atlanta to the sea.

/john

>Looks like you got your history from "Gone with the Wind".
>
>In fact, the Confederate General set Atlanta on fire before he evacuated
>the city, in order to be sure that the Union Army didn't get the provisions.
>
>However, Sherman did burn his way from Atlanta to the sea.
    
    Lord, I'm SURE he wouldn'ta touched the Zippo to it were it left
    standing!  Pahdon me, mah technical error, suh!
    
    Looks like y'all got your sense of humor from an old textbook. A very
    drrrryyyyyy old textbook.  :^]
    
    							Tex
    
    Now, if anyone out there could supply our friends from the Great Frozen
    North with the story of "Why Southerners Eat Black-Eyed Peas at New
    Year's for Luck"...  You, boy!...yes, you, with the grits on your face. 
    Stand up, son, and elucidate!

    Black-eyed pease I could understand.  But Hog Jowls?  and what were
    those greens ennyway?
    
    :-)
    
    ed

>>>      <<< Note 3113.42 by NOVA::FISHER "Tay-unned, rey-usted, rey-ady" >>>

>>>    Black-eyed pease I could understand.  But Hog Jowls?  and what were
>>>    those greens ennyway?
    
     
     Those greens is what  you turn after eating scrapple and pigs knuckles!!

			:-)

	- John

	ps - Just back from prison in Texas, after eating their food,
	     I would have been tempted by hog jowls and chittlens (sp?)
	     Originally from Texas, and having had to live in Mass. I 
	     could only speculate that the prisoners cook was from 
	     New England :-)

    re: .42
>	ps - Just back from prison in Texas, after eating their food,
>	     I would have been tempted by hog jowls and chittlens (sp?)
>	     Originally from Texas, and having had to live in Mass. I 
>	     could only speculate that the prisoners cook was from 
>	     New England :-)
    
    	Chitterlings can be found in some of the more old-fashioned
    butchers in England, and in France they are a delicacy going under the
    name of "andouillettes".

Re: .42
    >Black-eyed pease I could understand.  But Hog Jowls?  and what were
    >those greens ennyway?
    
    Well, they could have been Collard greens, Mustard greens, or maybe
    even Poke Sallet. If it was Poke Sallet, I hope the cook knew how 
    to prepare it properly, as it can be poisonous otherwise. After
    Sherman went thru the South, the people ate what things they could 
    find, in order to survive, and learned to like some of the things.
    
    I never heard the story of why we ate Black-eyed Peas and Ham Hocks
    on Jan 1st for luck. I just knew it was a tradition like sassafras 
    tea each spring.
    				Marie 

Y'all,  this is all very interesting, but could y'all please stick to the
topic.

Thanks,

Bob - Co-moderator DIGITAL

    yessuh, boss!

>Y'all,  this is all very interesting, but could y'all please stick to the
>topic.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Bob - Co-moderator DIGITAL
    
    No.
    
    Now, the reason we eat black-eyed peas is that when "Burn-em" Sherman,
    the 1800's answer to the ATF, came through the Confederated States of
    America inflicting his atrocities upon the populace, he had a very tight 
    schedule, as Lincoln had originally underbid the job and he was already
    way over cost.  Plus, he knew if it took a long time, it'd never made a
    good "made for TV" mini-series, so he pushed hard.
    
    The Blue Suits only destroyed what they thought was of value.  Thus,
    all the sheep were immediately dispatched, although none of them wore
    wool or ate veal :^].  Anyway, the lads thought that black-eyed peas
    were only grown for hog-food and, having dispatched same, it was
    redundant to burn the hay for the horses or...the black-eyed peas for
    the hogs.
    
    Thus, the survivors STILL had something to eat, and felt damn lucky,
    since all their VCRs, houses, and autographed nude pictures of Mrs.
    Lincoln were gone.  So on New Years every year, we celebrate with the
    lowliest pea on the legume ladder...the Black-Eyed Pea.
    
    (OK, Bob, just to tie this in...black-eyed peas have been shown to have
    wonderful restorative powers for senior citizens.  This is why old
    people up north move south right before they die or lose their driver's
    licenses.  This would account for any Geriatrics at the Mill. :^])
    
    								Tex

    I stumbled across 1522.24, which is an account of an employee who asked
    about fire safety and the Mill.

    
    
           To the author's of the last 20 or so notes ... including .50,
           which I was able to read before it was set hidden ...
    
           One simple question ...
    
           Do you people have a job ?   If so, I can see why we (Digital)
           got into the trouble we've been in these recent years ...
    
    
                                                        Dan ...
    
           

>           One simple question ...
>    
>           Do you people have a job ?   If so, I can see why we (Digital)
>           got into the trouble we've been in these recent years ...
    
    Another simple question...how long it take you to read 'em? :^]
    
    God, and all this money Digital spent on consulting fees and new VPs! 
    We coulda just asked Dr. Dan!  I'm sure Ainsley and Lionel and myself
    and the others in this string will finally realize we...we're bums,
    sponging off the Digital lunch-wagon!  Thanks, Dan, you've...you've
    turned my life around (sniff) and maybe now I....I can be a (snorfle)
    productive member of society, given therapy, and spend my time more
    productively being a....being a.....
    
    
    			!! NOTES CRITIC !!  (rotfl!)
    
    								Tex :^]]]]]

    
    I'm happy to have been able to point you towards the light ...
    
    Please feel free to contact me off line, if you need further
    assistance ...
    
                                                   Dan ...

    I just read this in yesterday's paper, and am already committed for
    this evening, but maybe someone else can go and report back: the new
    owners are running a tour of the Mill and "Mill Pond Village", complete
    with refreshments, TONIGHT, at, I think, 7:30.  I think the tour starts
    from the door by the Upper Thompson Street parking lot.  Anyone able to
    go to see what is happening inside our old haunts?
    
    /Charlotte