MARBLEHEAD — Town officials and residents gathered Thursday for Marblehead’s first community-wide listening session on the future of the long-vacant Coffin School property, voicing a mix of optimism, frustration, and concern over how the Town should reuse one of its few remaining large public parcels.
The meeting, led by Brendan Callahan, director of community development and planning, drew a packed audience of neighbors and local officials. Callahan described the session as “strictly to listen” as the Town begins evaluating reuse options for the site, which has stood empty since 2021.
In January, custody of the former elementary school transferred from the School Committee to the Select Board, which now holds responsibility for determining the property’s future. Since August, the Town has invited input from both municipal departments and outside developers through an Expression of Interest and a Request for Information process.
Five municipal EOIs were received: a cemetery expansion, a battery-storage project from Marblehead Municipal Light, a dog park, affordable housing through the Housing Authority, and temporary boat storage to generate interim revenue.
Only three formal RFIs were returned. Two mirrored earlier municipal submissions, while one came from Harborlight Homes: a nonprofit, affordable-housing developer. Harborlight proposed a 40-unit mixed-income development featuring one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, primarily for seniors, and pledged to retain the historic school building while removing its annex and preserving the significant open space behind it.
Neighbors used the public comment portion to air wide-ranging opinions. Many urged caution against overdevelopment, citing existing traffic congestion on Green Street and West Shore Drive, and expressing worries about parking, noise, and neighborhood character.
On the topic of using the land to comply with 3A, Cathy Derosier said, “We have to decide what kind of community we want. If only people who can afford million-dollar homes can move here, what kind of town are we insisting on having?”
Others focused on the property’s deteriorating state. Several speakers described unsafe playground equipment and an ongoing rat infestation.
Town Facilities Director Todd Bloodgood responded that the equipment would soon be declared surplus and removed under state bidding rules, and pest-control measures would be coordinated with the Health Department.
While some urged keeping the land as open space, others called the site an opportunity to address Marblehead’s long-recognized shortage of senior and workforce housing. The Town’s 2022 Housing Production Plan prioritized exactly those needs.
Some residents backed the idea of affordable, assisted-living units or veterans housing, models that would allow older residents to remain in town while paying a manageable share of their income toward rent.
Kurt James said that “if there is some support for housing, one option to consider is affordable assisted living. What that would mean is a very high-quality building would be constructed there, but residents, instead of paying upward of 90 or 95% of their income — like they would do in a nursing home — they would pay 30% of their income.”
James added, “There are several nonprofits that have constructed using this model. We can have a high preference for Marblehead residents, so we’re not necessarily talking about bringing in people from out of town, and we can have a preference for veterans.”
Marblehead Housing Authority Chair Jenn Schaffner confirmed that Massachusetts law allows up to a 70% local-preference clause in affordable-housing developments, subject to fair-housing regulations.
Others cautioned against viewing the site purely as a financial asset. Jack Attridge calculated that even if the Town sold the property outright, “you’re only going to get $50,000 a year out of it” once proceeds are invested. Several residents urged the Town to retain ownership and explore mixed public uses — for example, pairing limited housing with a community park.
Longtime residents also invoked the property’s history. Before the construction of the original school in the 1940s, the site had been laid out for 12 single-family lots. Some suggested revisiting that smaller-scale pattern if housing proceeds.
Callahan stressed that no decisions have been made. The Select Board will review all community feedback along with the EOI and RFI responses before deciding whether to issue a formal Request for Proposals later this year. That RFP would include a scoring matrix to evaluate specific redevelopment bids.
Select Board Chair Dan Fox told attendees the board is “here to listen,” adding that the panel has “no predetermined outcome.” He and other board members said issues raised at the meeting, from rats to recreation, would be addressed as the process continues.
A second listening session is expected in December, likely ahead of a Select Board meeting. The Town plans to post a recording of this week’s session and all received proposals on its website.
For now, the future of the Coffin School property remains open. The meeting revealed broad agreement that the land should benefit the community long-term — whether through open space, housing for residents, or a mix of both.
As Pam Flynn summed up near the end of the evening, “The value of the property shouldn’t be based on money alone, but on what value it actually has to the town. How will it make the town better? How will it make people’s lives better? That’s the responsibility of the Town.”
