The Westport Food Pantry, recreation department and affordable housing trust have all expressed interest in re-using part or all of the old high school property at 19 Main Road, after town manager James Hartnett put out a request for information (RFI) last month.

Proposals were due Friday, March 10, and Hartnett received four — three from those organizations, and one from Main Road resident Gay Gillespie that came in after the deadline. Though they are non-binding, the plans are being reviewed by Hartnett, the select board and the Long Term Building Reuse Committee (LTBRC) as the town seeks to find an appropriate new use for the old school. At the same time, Hartnett will continue to seek proposals from would-be developers and the public sector, and the select board last Monday authorized him to look into having a full assessment done on the property.

Food pantry

Board members of the non-profit food pantry wrote in their letter of interest that the school would be perfect for their non-profit operation, which is now housed in the basement of the Westport Grange further south on Main Road.

"If we were given the opportunity in the future to use part of the old Westport High School building, we would be interested in moving our entire charity and operations to that space," board members wrote in their letter to Hartnett.

"Our charity has grown over the last two years (and) has become an integral resource for the community," board members wrote, and as a result is outgrowing its Grange space. Board members said the parts of the building of particular interest to them include the music and band room, which could be used for storage, the cafeteria, kitchen, an office, and any other available storage space.

Recreation

In her letter, Westport Recreation Director Dana Stewart wrote that the gym would be a welcome addition to her facilities and could host fitness classes, sports, camps, children's programs, special events and gym rentals.

Elsewhere in the building, the auditorium could be used for theatre productions, improv, presentations, dance and music programs, special events and more.

She is also interested in using the kitchen and cafeteria, individual classrooms and other parts of the building.

"As you know, we currently use the Town Hall Annex gym as the main space to hold the majority of our recreation programs and gym rentals," she wrote. "This space is very much appreciated and well used. Having additional space ... to use on a regular basis would help to increase our program offerings and the overall revenue for our recreation department."

Affordable housing trust

In a 13-page proposal, trust officials propose developing the old school into mixed-income housing, while preserving existing playfields and open space.

"It appears that members of the Long-Term Building Committee believe that housing is a compatible use for this site. While we cannot yet assert what kind of housing development would be possible on this site, this is a proper place in town for creating new housing."

The trust's vision is for a series of apartments and town-house style units built into two buildings, mostly on the footprint of the existing school building. Trust members believe that if such a venture was undertaken, the site could support 55 to 110 apartment units, plus 12 to 16 townhouses.

Gillespie proposal

In a two-page letter, Main Road resident Gay Gillespie took a broader view of the property, saying that it make sense from a long-term planning perspective to keep the high school for town and school offices, and relocate all of the town's administration to the property.

"Its location in the center of the town, close to the schools and library, makes it easily accessible from all parts of our community," she wrote.

"As such, it would be an ideal location for all the town's administrative offices, including the school department. Having all the departments in one location alleviates the current back and forth driving from town hall to the annex to the different departments. The former high school is already wired for Internet, has ample parking and ADA accessibility, and an auditorium that is large enough for town meetings."

If the town decides to go that route, "demand for real estate, the town hall, the annex (and) the council on aging are very marketable for mixed use in Central Village and single family housing at the Head of Westport."

Re-use committee speaks

The re-use committee, formed two years ago, met last week to go over the documents received to date. And while there are still differences of opinion as to what should happen with the property, several board members  and Gillespie, who attended, said that as Westport struggles with financial issues and a possible budget override this coming fiscal year, it could make sense to use the old school for centralized town and school offices. Some asked whether the town has the financial ability to continue to maintain its varied and aging buildings.

"Nobody wanted to keep this high school more than me, and I still want to keep it," said former selectman Tony Vieira, who is not on the committee but attended the meeting. "It'd be nice to say, 'Let's keep the town hall.' But ... we may be able to sell of those other buildings, put them ack on the tax roll and then manage the (old) high school. We have to look long term."

Others favor keeping part or all of it.

"Housing is a good idea," said committee member Tony Viveiros. "Let a developer put senior housing or whatever on the property. It's a big property so I think you could keep the building, use it for all these different groups and organizations that want to use it, and still develop part of that property, put up a few small complexes and still have some open space."

Most agreed that as the town continues to research what to do, more input is needed. Board chairman Don Davidson said he is working with Hartnett to make the town's RFI available on BidNet, a service that automatically provides bid proposals, RFIs and other similar documents to developers and other organizations that subscribe.

"We need to reach a bigger audience," he said. "I think we failed to do that the first time."