Dental Office To Remain Open

ORLEANS – The owner of land on Eldredge Park Way who is in talks with the town about selling his property for use in siting a new fire station reiterated this week that he is not closing his dental practice.

Dr. Greg Monfrette, who owns Advanced Family Dentistry of Cape Cod at 56 Eldredge Park Way, said he has heard from patients who believed he is closing his practice based on reporting in last week’s Chronicle. It was reported that Monfrette and the select board had come to terms on a purchase and sale agreement on the .82 acre parcel, which fronts the existing fire station.

Coming out of the executive session at the select board’s Oct. 15 meeting, Select Board Chair Kevin Galligan said that Monfrette had agreed to sell the parcel to the town. But Monfrette said both sides still have a ways to go in negotiations.

“We’ve agreed to a price,” Monfrette said when reached by phone Thursday. “That’s all we’ve done so far. We have not agreed to terms.”

With a sale, Monfrette’s office would remain open at its existing location through the end of June 2027. He said he would explore options for relocating the practice elsewhere after that date.

“The message…is Dr. Monfrette is still in his current location,” Galligan told the Orleans Elementary School committee Oct. 20. “He is likely to be there until the summer of 2027. He is accepting patients. He is not going to see any harm to continuing his service.”

The potential purchase of the property is being hailed by town officials as a breakthrough on plans for a new fire station. Planning for a new facility has proven problematic, particularly in terms of finding a suitable site. 

Michael Solitro, the town’s special projects coordinator, told the select board Oct. 22 that the town has a “non-binding letter of intent” in place with Monfrette, whom he said has been “a great partner” with the town on the project.

“While there’s been a lot of positive comments this week, I do want to acknowledge that without his partnership and willingness to kind of change a lot of what he’s doing onsite, this would not be possible for us,” he said.

An article is set to go before voters at the Nov. 17 special town meeting seeking $1.35 million in stabilization funds to go toward purchasing the parcel. The money would come from stabilization funds, and residents would not see any tax impact related to the authorization if approved.

If a sale is finalized, the town would lease the 56 Eldredge property to Monfrette for 18 months from January 2026 until July 1, 2027

“He would be there (for the 18 months), and that would coincide with our design time,” Solitro said. “So we would not delay the project at all. It would give the dentist..the opportunity to see his patients for the next 18 months and find a soft spot to relocate locally.”

Monfrette said the town approached him about a month ago asking if he would be willing to sell his property. Town Manager Kim Newman last week said that Monfrette was the only abutter to the fire station that the town talked to who expressed a willingness to sell the entirety of their property.

The 56 Eldredge Park Way property abuts town land that currently houses the existing fire station, which opened its doors in 1987. Fire Chief Geof Deering last week said that with the two parcels, he believes there will be ample room for a new facility that meets the fire department’s current and future needs.

The parcel also would allow the fire department to continue operating out of the current station while construction is ongoing at a new facility. The town estimates that it would save $13.5 million in not having to secure a temporary facility for the department to operate out of during construction. Solitro also said that the cost of construction, which is currently estimated to be between $40 million and $45 million, would go up $2.2 million if delayed another year.

Monfrette said that while he stands to make more by keeping his practice open at its current location, he was motivated to work with the town, citing the need for a new station and the opportunity to help save taxpayers those additional costs.

“When I heard the amount that the taxpayers were going to have to come up with…I felt it was my obligation to help the taxpayers try and avoid that,” he said.

If the funding is approved in November, the town would begin preparing a building design in time for the May 2026 annual town meeting, where an article seeking construction funding could go before voters. If that is approved, ground on the project could be broken in the summer of 2027, with the dental practice relocating by July 1 of that year, according to a timeline presented to the select board Oct. 22. The project would be completed in spring 2029.

On Oct. 20, the Orleans Elementary School committee praised the town’s pursuit of the 56 Eldredge Park Way site. The committee and other elementary school advocates had previously voiced concerns with prior plans to site a new station closer to the school.

“I just wanted to say thank you to the town administration and the select board for hearing the concerns of the community and pursuing other avenues,” said Ian Mack of the school committee. “I do view this as a very dynamic project and I know there’s a lot of irons in the fire. So it’s really nice to see that concerns have been heard and the town is willing to support those concerns.”

Gail Briere of the school committee said the select board’s Oct. 15 announcement of developments around the parcel came as “a complete surprise” but a welcome one. She reflected on the committee’s past attempts at working with the town on a potential site on elementary school property that eventually fell through.

“It has clearly been a challenge for everyone to see a path forward, until now,” she said.