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SAA Walks Away from Academy School in Madison

After years of working with the town to try and transform the former Academy School into a cultural arts center, the Shoreline Arts Alliance (SAA) has decided to step away from Academy School, citing a lack of progress over recent months and a shift in business terms.

SAA made the announcement at tonight's Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting. While the decision came as a shock to some, the SAA Board of Directors released a statement clarifying their decision:

“… Madison’s first selectman and majority members of the current administration no longer support the project. And while SAA has worked tirelessly over the past nine months to re-establish a ‘partnership’ with the town, it finds it is losing ground. Three weeks ago, upon receiving the town’s revised terms for the lease—terms that vary materially from the Letter of Intent between SAA and the town, terms that were never discussed with or agreed to by SAA, and terms that SAA truly believes are commercially unfeasible for any party—it became clear to SAA that the project has reached a point of impasse…”

Over the past several months the SAA and the current BOS had been discussing terms for the lease and how to divide financial responsibility for the project. Recent discussions had left the town and SAA at odds over the project timeline, financial obligations, and final deal terms of the lease. While the BOS had voted to extend the Letter of Intent between the town and SAA in late June of this year, SAA CEO and Executive Director Eric Dillner said it is time to move on.

“We don’t feel like we are moving forward and we need to move forward or our constituents are not going to see where all of their hard work has gone,” he said. “One door closes and another opens. We have three towns that are asking us to come, so we have actually got a short list of spots.”

First Selectman Tom Banisch said he felt the right decision had been made for Madison.

“I am pleased because I think it wasn’t going to happen and we were going to continue to spin the wheels,” he said. “I have been trying to find a way to resolve this so that we can move on and continue with Academy School rather than just keep talking about the lease.”

While Banisch was pleased with SAA’s choice, Selectman Joan Walker said this development was a loss for the community.

“I think it is extremely sad that the SAA got so frustrated that they feel they had to withdrawal,” she said. “I think that had we been diligent in trying to negotiate that we could have come to something that would have benefited the town both from a cultural and economic development perspective. I think this is a very sad day for Madison.”

Now that SAA is no longer be pursuing the building, the town is still left to decide what to do with Academy School, which has been a hot button topic since the school was vacated more than a decade ago.

“We are going to have a public hearing and try to get a sense of what people want to do,” said Banisch. “I have gotten a good sense that people like the idea of selling the building, so we will go to a public hearing and make sure that is really how people feel. What I would like to do is get proposals from people, [asking] what could you make it into with your money that is going to benefit you and is also going to benefit the town of Madison?”

Banisch said he will try to identify the best financial option for the town.

“My main concern was not what was best for the SAA, but what was best for Madison,” he said.