Council Continues Development Debate for Old School Site

By Adam Swift

The town council debated the merits of several possibilities for the future of the old middle school on Pauline Street during a special meeting Tuesday night.

Workforce and 55-plus affordable housing, commercial use, green space, recreational use, an ice rink,  and a performing arts center were all raised as potential uses for at least a portion of the property.

Council President Jim Letterie called for the special roundtable meeting to discuss the use of the property.

Several councilors expressed an interest in moving forward with a motion for the town manager to put out a request for proposals for the use of the property. But Letterie said since Tuesday night’s meeting was a special meeting for discussion purposes with no public comment, he didn’t want to accept any motions without the ability for public input until the next regular council meeting.

The old Winthrop Middle School on Pauline Street has been closed since 2016 when the new Middle/High School opened.

There have been efforts over the past years for the reuse of the site, but the town has yet to settle on a final plan for the property. The old middle school was one of two potential locations for a new fire station considered by the town council in 2024, but the council voted to move forward with a proposal at the town-owned basketball courts on Walden Street.

“The middle school has been vacant since the later part of 2016 … going on nine years,” said Letterie. “Over the past nine years we have had several proposals, several thoughts, we’ve had a (request for information) go out, we’ve had surveys done. We’ve had different plans, those plans started … back in 2017.”

At that time, Letterie said there was a working group that thought the old school could be the site of a new ice rink at the top of the hill with some residential development down at the bottom.

By 2018, Letterie said there was some interest from a developer about the use of the middle school only, not the gym and auditorium.

“The proposal then, what he was interested in, was to gut the middle school, not tear it down, and to build 65-odd units within the old middle school,” said Letterie.

There was also a previous possibility of tearing down the old middle school and building up to 150 units at Walden and Pauline that never went anywhere, he added.

“I came here a year and a half ago with the thought of having a sports complex there, they would have built an additional field house that would have been used by the town and the school department, the property would have stayed with the town of Winthrop,” he said.

However, at that time, Letterie said there did not seem to be any consensus among the council about moving forward with that plan.

“There have been thoughts to tear down the gym, the auditorium, and the school down and have green space, there’s been discussion of a 50 and over community,” said Letterie.

Letterie said there has also been discussion about keeping the property in case the town needs to build a new school in the future.

“The most recent discussion has been about tearing down the school and the auditorium and leaving green space between the gym and potentially five townhouse lots at the top of Wheelock,” he said. “This way, it would provide a natural buffer for the neighborhood and kind of complete that neighborhood.”

Letterie said there has been a general consensus to maintain the current ice rink as it is or build a secondary rink. He added that he believes the town should also use the gym and recreation space because of a lack of gym space for students in the town.

 “The other thought that has been out there as we discuss numerous options is income for the town,” Letterie said. “There has always been that discussion that we need to look for additional revenue streams, we need to look for stimulus for businesses in town.”

Precinct 6 Councilor John DaRos said the middle school property is one of the only remaining parts of town where it can build something that is revenue generating.

“I think the place to start, as opposed to the specific ideas …, is what are the outcomes that we want?” DaRos said.

DaRos noted that residents in his precinct and throughout the town have pointed out that they have to leave Winthrop to take advantage of recreational amenities such as swimming pools and indoor tracks.

Letterie noted that the town did contact local YMCAs to see if there was any interest in the site for a facility, but they were not interested.

Councilor Suzanne Swope said she is interested in further discussion about using the property for increased greenspace for the town, along with affordable 55-plus housing.

Councilor Joseph Aiello said the town really needs to understand the site as well as it can.

“I know some mapping has been provided, but I think mapping that anybody in the community can understand which maps the various parcels of properties that were transferred over the years and under what circumstances up against what is there today,” Aiello said. “I think we’ve got better information than we’ve had before, but I don’t think it is in a form that’s working.”

Although the council previously voted on selecting the Walden Street basketball courts as the site for a new fire station, Aiello said it should keep an open mind about the middle school site as home of a new firehouse.

“It is very clear that we all support the firehouse on this council,” he said. “We need to make sure that we kick the tires on the two alternatives again and satisfy ourselves that we’ve got the one that the voters support. Because bottom line, we cannot fail to pass the measure for a firehouse this round, so if that means changing our mind because of further analysis, I’m happy to have that discussion.”

Councilor-at-Large Rob DeMarco said he is in favor of tearing the middle school down now while still considering development options for the property.

“I think it would be awesome to have a green space to walk from the center into Ingleside Park,” said DeMarco. “We have some decisions to make, we’ll make those decisions.”

DeMarco said he also believes it is important that the voters make decisions on issues, such as what ultimately happens on the site.

Council Vice President Hannah Belcher said that the cost associated with tearing the property down could cost $1.5 to $2 million.

Councilor John Munson said he would like to see the town put out requests for proposals for residential and other potential development of the property.

Belcher also noted that the auditorium could provide potential community space for the arts and theater.

“I think it would be very utilized for the community,” she said, adding that the gym is also heavily used by the town’s parks and recreation department.

“We have these opportunities here that can be built upon, but I think that relies heavily on the addition of revenue from housing,” said Belcher. “Now, whether that is workforce housing or senior housing, I’m not sure. But I think before we start moving in the direction of asking for engineering studies or urban design studies, we need to have a really clear scope of what we are asking for, otherwise we are just throwing money at more plans.”

Councilor Pat Costigan said the council has serious choices to make about the town’s revenue stream.

“Is the use of that area going to be community based, or are we going to chase the dollar down the hall?” said Costigan.

Costigan said he is in favor of development that benefits the community and its wellbeing. He added that if there is residential development on the property, he would want to see ownership units as opposed to rentals.

Councilor Max Tassinari said that while the town has had almost nine years to think about the use of the old middle school site, it has been lacking an overall vision for the future.

“We’re taking one piece of land and we are looking at it in a vacuum when it may be the only piece that we can move right now,” he said. “But it is certainly not the only piece we have available to us on the board as town land.”

Tassinari said he doesn’t believe there can be a consensus on the old middle school site until there is a longer-term vision for the entire town.

“If it has to sit there for another year or two, then it sits there for another year or two before we have a vision of what we want our town to look like, a financial impact study of what it likely to happen with the current zoning before we even talk about adding residential area to that site,” said Tassinari. “And another look at the Win2030 Plan, that would be nice to be presented before the whole council at a council meeting so that it can be reintroduced to the public and reintroduced to this council.”