WHATELY — As the revived Center School Committee awaits word on a $600,000 grant, the Community Preservation Committee is recommending up to $96,038 in grant matching money for an extensive project that would see the 114-year-old building’s roof replaced and other exterior features restored.

In a brief meeting last week, the Community Preservation Committee unanimously recommended the grant match and sent it on for voter approval at the Oct. 22 Special Town Meeting. If approved, $36,916 would be appropriated from the CPA’s historic preservation balance and the remaining $59,122 would come from the CPA’s general, undesignated balance.

The Center School Committee II, as it is referred to on the town website, was formed this spring and charted out a reuse proposal for the historic school on Chestnut Plain Road. The committee recently earned a $14,000 Hart Family Fund grant and is waiting to hear back on a $600,000 grant through the Underutilized Properties Program, which could cover the roof, window and masonry work.

“We should find out about that sometime in September. … I would be very, very surprised if we were fully funded,” said Center School Committee member Judy Markland, noting that even if they don’t get the full request, some aspects of the project can still proceed. “If we can get something like $300,000 or $400,000, we should be able to do the roof replacement.”

If awarded, the Underutilized Properties Program grant would require a 12% grant match, which comes out to approximately $72,000.

The $14,000 grant from the Hart Family Fund, a national trust supporting historic preservation, will be used to hire an architectural firm to conduct a feasibility study that will look at the building, review how it could be brought up to code and make recommendations on an optimal use, according to Markland.

If the Center School Committee can secure the funding for the work, the end goal of the project is to rehabilitate the historic building for non-municipal use. Preliminary ideas, which are subject to change, include affordable housing or a small grocery store in the basement, but the feasibility study will identify potential uses.

The building was nearly sold to developer Robert Obear, who is renovating the Blue School on Christian Lane, this spring, but the town ultimately rejected the proposal, as his plan envisioned turning the building into a private residence. Instead, members of the Center School Visioning Committee, who then joined the revived committee, proposed trying to redevelop the building under town ownership.

“We genuinely believe we have a layout or plan [that] could be far more in line with what townspeople are looking for in a multi-purpose use of the existing building,” committee member Jenny Morrison said in March, adding that the school holds meaning for so many people in town. “The long-term planning survey that just went out asks for a number of things that we believe this building can provide.”

With the Community Preservation Committee’s unanimous recommendation, Chair Alan Sanderson Jr. said the Hart Family Fund grant award could be a good sign as the town awaits the larger grant announcement.

“That $14,000 might be a good omen for us,” Sanderson said. “They thought it was a good project.”

The Center School CPA funding request will come before voters at the Oct. 22 Special Town Meeting. The warrant article will also feature two conditions: it is contingent on the town receiving grants and all work must comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for historic preservation.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.