What's next for Montague Center School?

[ Originally published on: Saturday, June 27, 2009 ]

MONTAGUE CENTER -- While keeping the Montague Center School building as an educational institute may require the least work, the current market is more likely to support a residential use, such as condominiums or co-housing, a town-hired consultant has concluded.

Since the Gill-Montague Regional School Committee voted to close the village school in the spring of 2008, the town has been paying to maintain the building. It also hired Greenberg and Associates of Putney, Vt., to help it decide the fate of the former elementary school.

On Wednesday, Greenberg gave its final report.

The school could also be converted into office space or a combination of office and living space, said architect Chip Greenberg.

Town officials want a use that fits with the neighborhood and gets the building on the tax rolls, said Lesley Cromack, chairman of the town's Capital Improvements Committee.

Many of the dozen or so residents who showed up Wednesday said the building should re-open as a school.

David Leh of North Taylor Hill Road said he wished figures about making the building handicapped accessible had been available before the school closed because it shows the work is less than what had been provided to the School Committee.

He asked the town officials to work with the School Committee to re-open the Montague Center School and make necessary renovations, which he said would be cheaper then renovating Sheffield to fit all elementary students.

Currently, with students in Hillcrest and Sheffield, the town doesn't have to pay anything for school capital costs, said Cromack.

He said the decision to close the school was in the best interest of the whole town. ''We're trying to move forward in the best way we can to put the school in productive use,'' Cromack said.

Several said they think the best re-use is senior housing.

On Tuesday, the Planning Board held a public hearing on a proposal to change the zoning of the school parcel to neighborhood business, which would allow the uses suggested by the consultant as well as allow the facility to remain a school.

Neighborhood business zoning is designed to make sure that the business use fits in with the surrounding the residential neighborhood, said Town Planner Daniel Laroche.

The board did not make a recommendation on the zone change and plans to continue discussing the issue at its July 21 meeting.

Changing the zoning will require two-thirds majority approval at town meeting. Changing the zoning is important in helping to attract potential developers, said Laroche.

If the zoning change goes through, the town would put out a formal request for proposals to see what developers come forward, said Town Administrator Frank Abbondanzio.

The request will place an emphasis on a use that's compatible with the neighborhood and keeps the historical character of the building, he said.

''We really want this to be a positive thing for the town.''

You can reach Arn Albertini at: aalberti@recorder.com or (413) 772-0261 Ext. 264

 

---