At the Wednesday, Dec. 1 meeting of the Bristol Town Council, the Administration presented a conceptual plan for a reuse of the long-vacant Walley School building on the northwest corner of the Town Common.

“I’m really excited to share this presentation and the opportunity that we have to revitalize the Walley School,” said Economic Development Coordinator Chris Vitale of the 1896 brick schoolhouse that is on the National Register of Historic Places. The plot of land it's on is part of the Town Common, so the building is deeded to the town and cannot be sold. Originally used as a school, it was decommissioned in 1989 as the district moved towards regionalization and has been largely unoccupied since 1999.

The building needs to be stabilized, at the least. It does not have proper HVAC or fire suppression systems, and the seasonal hot and cold cycles are taking a toll on the historic building. Vitale also cited water infiltration as well as significant settling as causes for concern. Regardless of how the building is used in the future, stabilization, that will include system upgrades and masonry, will cost an estimated $2 million. “I think all of us here want to see it restored,” said Vitale.

“The town has a very unique opportunity to fund this revitalization project,” he continued, suggesting converting it into a hub for the town's municipal senior services and complementary activities. “The need is only going to grow here in the in the years to come,” he continued, citing figures that one in four Rhode Islanders will be 65 or older by 2030. Bristol, Vitale said, is already “bursting at the seams” with senior programming activities at the Quinta Gamelin Community Center.

Parks and Recreation Assistant Director Tim Shaw agreed.
“Since January 1 of this year we've seen over 12,000 check-ins….8,000 of those 12,000 were senior residents,” he said, referring to people signing up for yoga, Zumba, and other activities at the center. He noted also that those numbers were likely low, given the pandemic and the number of days the center was not running programs because it was either closed or serving as a regional vaccination clinic. “We are at the capacity that we have,” he said, noting that the Walley building’s central location and proximity to the popular pickle ball courts would make it an ideal location from which to offer services.

“I think that the numbers really speak for themselves,” said Senior Services Coordinator Mary Ann Quinn. “I think that the idea of being positioned on the Town Common would open services to residents that have transportation issues…We have also been doing a tremendous amount recently with vaccinations and the ability to be in a location where transportation isn’t required, and open it up to other complementary services, would be very beneficial to the seniors that we work with.”

Vitale noted that the Town Common and the area surrounding it is part of a census tract that has been historically lower income than the rest of town, so the convenience of complementary senior services downtown would be especially valuable to nonprofit partners, a sentiment echoed by Ed Carusi, Bristol’s Director of Social Services.

“In my opinion, relocating human and social services to the Walley building would benefit my clients in in several ways,” Carusi said. “My department services between 100 and 120 families, the majority of which come from this area. Many of my clients do not have their own transportation….Moving [the social services] department to this building would alleviate some of that stress.”

Major Brian Burke of the Bristol Police Department was in attendance, speaking for Chief Kevin Lynch, who was also in favor of this reuse, and feels that it would be an excellent opportunity to effect community policing initiatives using Walley as a base.

“It is an ideal location in really close proximity to other public buildings…the Chief envisions having an officer speak with members of our senior community on a monthly basis,” said Burke. He suggested that the police department would be able to use that time and space to promote a dialogue and keep the senior population informed about issues that matter to them.

Money matters
“The building stabilization would be $2 million,” said Vitale. “The build out and the other work that would be needed would be an additional $1.8 [million], so the total project we're looking at based on our preliminary estimates would be $3.8 million.”

Funding sources could include grants, Community Development Block Grant funds, and bonding.

“We have multiple funding sources to try and accomplish this project, should the Council want to move forward,” said Treasurer Julie Goucher. “Regardless of whether we move forward with this project, you'll see a borrowing resolution presented to you at the next Council meeting. We’re trying to to move forward fairly quickly so that we can take advantage of the low interest rate environment that we're in right now. The debt service rough estimates right now on the $1.8 million would be approximately 120,000 a year, to give you an idea of the impact.”

“One of the reasons why we felt like it was appropriate time is because we have the unique opportunity, right now, with the ARPA (American Rescue Plan) funds,” Goucher continued.

“What I’ve heard was that regardless of what we do, the next step is this building needs $2 million,” said Town Council Chairman Nathan Colouro. “We can never sell it, it's on the Town Common, it's our responsibility, we must do something. So the question is, what do we do with the last part of it? Is this the appropriate step for this building?”

For his part, Calouro seemed to think so.

“I think it’s outstanding,” he said. “I love the location, I love the ideas.”

However, Town Councilor Mary Parella had some reservations.

“I one hundred percent agree with the stabilization of the building for $2 million,” she said. “But I have to be honest with you….it is probably one of the last places I would think for a Senior Center because the access is not great. It's multiple floors, a very busy area, there’s limited parking…we want to make sure that people can actually get up to the door and easily get in.”

Town Administrator Steven Contente assured the Council that this plan is in the early stages and he was going to proceed (or not) based on their level of enthusiasm for the idea.

“We wanted to get an okay from the Council to move forward, but by the 22nd we're going to have a terrific plan for you, and the architects will be here to present it,” he said. “So I think many of your questions should be answered.”

With the understanding that the Council agreed that the Walley building needs to be stabilized and that issue will be placed on the next agenda, the discussion about the use of the building will be pushed to the Council’s January meeting.