Adams Seeking Interest In Memorial Middle School
ADAMS, Mass. — There are a ton of ideas about what the town could do with the Adams Memorial Middle School once it takes the building over this fall and officials want to know them all.The town's Community Development Department will be sending out a request for expressions of interest on the school building next week to find out if there are interested developers and figure out what could be possible with the building. Town officials are also asking for residents and organizations to express their interest and ideas.
The results will be presented at a public hearing with what hopes to be a clearer picture of possible usages.
"A perfect example of the type of stuff that would help for feedback is the Police Athletic League or the church's basketball league wants to use the gym," Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said on Wednesday. "Everything from buying the entire property and turning it into a paper mill to renting a couple rooms and running a youth program [we want to hear]."
The RFEI will be the focus for developers and it outlines the condition and specs of the school, town features and asks for developer ideas and information. The town is accepting any ideas but does stipulate that it wants to retain the Valley Street fields as public space.
That will help guide the town's future planning to release a request for proposals next spring.
"I think you can call this an information-gathering mission," Butler said. "The goal is to find out what's real and what's not."
The town hopes to get developer responses back by March 9 and will be hosting a site visit on Feb. 22. Without the RFEI, Butler said only non-profit companies have shown interest in the property.
Selectman Michael Ouellette said townspeople should have all the information in front of them and broken down into what each idea will do for tax rates and services. From there, they should make a decision on which way to prioritize the town's efforts. He also encouraged the department to advertise the building in major cities to help find interested parties. While it can be costly to advertise in those cities, Ouellette said it would be worth it.
The middle school is currently being used while Hoosac Valley High School is being renovated. Once that construction is complete, the town will retain ownership.
Adams Memorial School RFEI
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