Swampscott to review RFPs for former middle school

SWAMPSCOTT – The town has received two responses for its request for proposals for the former middle school on Greenwood Avenue.The RFP deadline for the school, which has been declared surplus property, was July 14.State law requires the property be put out to bid publicly and all bids must be opened at the same time and evaluated using the same criteria.The RFPs specified that no more than 41 housing units could be located on the site.Several calls to Town Administrator Andrew Maylor on Wednesday and Thursday were not returned. Attempts to reach Town Building Oversight Committee Chairman Martin Grasso were also unsuccessful.The Town Building Oversight Committee will review the RFPs and make a recommendation to the selectmen.The school was built in 1895 and has been used as a high school and middle school. The former school sits on a 90,000-square-foot parcel and it is expected to sell for more than $2 million.There are specifics required in the design and development, including preservation of the 1895 portion of the school, architectural details, parking and green space, so the development would fit in with the existing neighborhood.In November 2008, Town Meeting voted to sell the Greenwood Avenue property and it was put out to bid unsuccessfully last year when the town only received one bid and rejected it because the offer was too low.The selectmen and Town Building Study Committee lobbied Town Meeting to change the zoning restrictions for the site to allow the town to accept proposals that included demolition of the oldest portion of the school but Town Meeting voted against it.