Bringing new life to old schools.

Byline: Matthew Bruun

FITCHBURG - Educators are fond of pointing out that schools are more than just bricks and mortar. But it's the bricks and mortar that linger long after the students are gone, and just like their human inhabitants, sometimes schools need to adapt to a new environment.

Several communities around the region are trying to determine the best use for former school buildings, some of which are decades past their prime. In several communities former schools have been converted to residences or into municipal office or library space, while others are still charting their course.

Budgetary restrictions will close the B.F. Brown School in Fitchburg in the fall and city leaders are already in discussions on what to do with the sprawling space once the sounds of youngsters learning have faded. The School Department is consolidating buildings for financial reasons, as well as a declining enrollment.

Sally H. Cragin, a member of the Fitchburg School Committee and chairwoman of its building needs subcommittee, said the B.F. Brown building still has value. The building at 62 Academy St. was built in 1922 and has an assessed value of $5.1 million, according to city records.

"B.F. Brown is a gorgeous building that has a lot of potential," Ms. Cragin said last week, noting she also has a fondness for the neighboring brick structure known as the annex, which was designed by famed architect H.M. Francis. "My fervent hope and wish is that individuals or groups interested in preserving Francis' non-residential buildings will look at that building and say, let's adopt it for preservation."

What's to become of the B.F. Brown building remains to be determined, Ms. Cragin said, but the School Department has not yet relinquished control of the site.

The South Fitchburg School at Wanoosnoc Road and Water Street has been empty since it was closed in 2006 with the launch of universal full-day kindergarten in the city. The city is moving forward with efforts to sell it. A request for proposals on the building was just issued, Community Development Director David J. Streb said last week, with submissions due June 12. There will be a pre-bid conference and tour of the building at 2 p.m. May 7.

That's several hundred thousand square feet of city-owned space that can deteriorate if it's not maintained. And that is what has happened in neighboring Leominster.

The former Carter Junior High School has been empty for years. Its windows shattered, its facade in disrepair, the building at 261 West St. is considered an eyesore by neighbors and a nuisance by city officials who long to see it developed.

John M. Souza, chairman of the Leominster Planning Board, said the building should have been demolished years ago and its grounds used for the construction of a new police station. Developers have crafted ambitious plans for the building over the years, none of which have borne fruit. The building, constructed in 1904, spans more than 42,000 square feet.

The latest plan to go before city planners called for a high-density housing project at the site. Mr. Souza said the Planning Board turned it down because the density was too great. Neighbors also reacted negatively, despite their concerns with the building's current dilapidated state.

"People have attachment to old buildings," he said. "I really appreciate people's longing to keep these old buildings, but a lot of times it's better to bite the bullet and tear it down."

In Uxbridge, officials are trying to determine the best use of the former Virginia A. Blanchard School on Hartford Avenue East.

"It's an old building and we simply don't have any use for it," Uxbridge Town Manager Michael Szlosek said in a recent interview. "It's not in terrible shape. It's a solid building. It just needs lead paint abatement."

Once the longest-serving wooden school building in the state, the Blanchard School was closed in 2001. Town leaders would like to sell the property for development, but are awaiting a legal opinion on the matter. The building was donated to the town as a school, he said, so officials are seeking approval from the courts to sell the site and direct the proceeds to scholastic purposes.

"We can't do a request for proposals until we have authorization from the court," Mr. Szlosek said.

In Webster, a former schoolhouse is moving toward revitalization.

The former Anthony J. Sitkowski School has sat vacant in the heart of Webster for four years, Community Development Director Carol Cyr said in a recent interview.

But earlier this month selectmen gave the go-ahead to a developer's proposal to convert the building into 60 units of senior housing.

Ms. Cyr said it took a year and a half to get the request for proposals together and to pick a worthy project. The senior housing project, slated to be ready for occupancy in 2011, may bring many occupants full-circle. Some Sitkowski alumni are old enough to qualify for the new use.

"We weren't sure there was good use for it when we started," she said, referring to the decades-old brick structure.

The town accepted the developer's $150,000 offer for the building, almost $1 million less than the highest proposal, but Ms. Cyr said the senior housing project was deemed the best overall use for the site.

"What we got is pretty much what we were looking for, which is bringing people into the downtown," she said. "In six to eight months we should see construction start."

Ms. Cyr said she is gratified that all the work behind the scenes for the past year and a half is about to be made concrete.

"It's a long road," she said. "But there is hope."

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Webster has a plan to reuse the Anthony J. Sitkowski School. Senior housing is scheduled to open in 2011. (2) The vacant Carter Building on West Street in Leominster served as the high school until 1963, and then as a junior high.

PHOTOG: (1) T&G Staff/RICK CINCLAIR (2) T&G Staff/PAUL KAPTEYN