LYNN — The Lynn School Committee’s Building and Grounds subcommittee offered up potential uses for the former Marshall Middle School Thursday night, which has been vacant since 2016.
Committee members also discussed the potential of ceding ownership of the Porter Street property, since there are still no redevelopment plans for the former school building.
Mayor Thomas M. McGee, chairman of the School Committee, wants to transition ownership of the property to the city of Lynn to acquire a higher bid, but his fellow committee members are concerned about losing the property, since there is not much land left in the city to build new schools.
“We are tight for space in the Lynn Public Schools,” said Committee Vice Chair Donna Coppola. “If we could have a piece of that property, even if some of it doesn’t have to be turned over at one time. If we have land for preschoolers only, that would open up space in our schools.”
The entire building has been determined to contain asbestos. Two years ago, the property was listed at $2-$3 million to raze, but it has now been estimated to cost between $8 million and $9 million to demolish, due to the state of disrepair from a past fire and the asbestos.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Bertino said in a January 28 subcommittee meeting that using the extra $3-$4 million for the property wouldn’t be wise.
“We should start on the new school and continue moving forward, creating a new 21st century space for the children of Lynn,” he said, noting that he did not think anyone was going to give the city the type of money it wants for the property because of the condition and work needed.
“My concern is there’ll be no space left to make any schools and we desperately need them,” said Coppola. “We need a new Pickering and a new Tracy. We desperately need space.”
The city currently has 12 schools more than 100 years old, with five in need of significant repairs.
According to Bertino, the city has saved money by not having children physically in the schools and plans to use $5.5 million of that to repair the ventilation systems in selected schools.
Coppola suggested using the accessible money and space to build a preschool with a senior center on part of the property and elderly housing on the other.
“It would be a great match for the location. If we have elderly housing and a community room, it will be a great match between the elderly and students,” she said.
A Request for Proposals (RPF) already went out for senior housing, but the bidders needed years to raise the funding, which ultimately led to the bids being rejected.
McGee said he was concerned about the overall costs of the property and the challenges that accompany it.
“We should move on from that and focus on additional dollars it will cost,” he said. “We can use the additional $4 million to build a new Pickering and move forward in that process as well.”
Since it is still in possession of the school department, “every time we send someone over there (for tests), it comes out of the school budget,” said Bertino.
If the School Committee were to declare the property surplus, it would allow the city to take it over and explore other options, McGee said.
“It is important that we look at the reality of the challenges we face. We need to repurpose it in a way that will work for the community and neighborhood,” said McGee. “My perspective in this position is to move forward to get it off to the City Council and allow them to make a concerted effort to make something work for the community at large.”
The committee voted two years ago to demolish the building, but the city does not have the money to do so, according to Bertino.
“We don’t have the money,” he said. “Let’s think about the future, not the past.”
The School Committee has requested to meet with the City Council, in person, to take the ideas its members discussed Thursday night into consideration.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected]
