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Madison Holds First Academy School Workshop

It is disintegrating before our eyes, so what’s to be done? Nearly 100 people attended the first workshop meeting at Walter C. Polson Middle School on March 28 to debate the potential future use of Academy School. While no decisions were made, town officials heard that few want to see the building demolished and many hope for a multi-use future for the downtown icon.

The firm Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc. (FHI), chosen by the Board of Selectman (BOS) to serve as facilitator, ran the meeting. The current proposed scope of work for FHI includes an online survey, up to three stakeholder meetings, and at least two larger public meetings, among other services for a total proposed facilitator’s fee of $14,976.

Nearly 1,000 people filled out the online survey before the meeting, answering questions concerning people’s individual connections to the school, concerns about the building, and desires for its future use. Also online with the survey was a series of town-complied answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) including the assessed value of the property, the future of the baseball fields if the whole property is developed, current cost estimates to bring the building back online, and the conditions of the deed of Daniel Hand.

According to recent figures, cost estimates to renovate the property start at $8 million. The current appraised value of the whole parcel—the 5.13 acres including the ball fields, the playground, and the building itself—is $5,304,700. Properties are assessed at 70 percent of market value, so based on the town assessment, the market value of the property is $7,578,143.

At the meeting, FHI facilitator Francisco Gomes led the audience through a history of Academy School before moving on to another survey residents completed in real time through a computer program and then on to group discussions.

“We are not basing any decisions exclusively on the response to one survey question,” said Gomes. “What we are trying to do is cast a very wide net to get everyone’s feedback in as many ways possible about what needs to happen with the school.”

The survey at the meeting was similar to the online survey. Questions included if an individual or their child attended Academy School, if the individual uses the ball fields at the school, top concerns about the building, perceived significance of the building, top choice for reuse, and feelings on demolition.

While responses to the discussion questions and survey were wide ranging, a couple of opinions were brought up multiple times. Residents seemed uncomfortable with the complete demolition of the building with many saying the original or front section of the building needs to be saved. Residents also expressed interest in a mixed use for the building, meaning that it not just be offices, apartments, or shops, but rather a combination of uses. Residents said they would not want to see the whole five-acre parcel developed, preferring there be an effort to preserve some open space.

Resident Tina Garrity said she wants the future use of the building to turn the structure into some sort of focal point, something that will draw people to town.

“We do not want it demolished and lose the green space. Keep an area for kids to play and [don’t] sell it without restrictions for use,” she said. “We want it to be reused for the town in a way that benefits the town somehow or some way, like a marketplace of something.”

Resident Beth Coyne said she wants to see the building have a multipurpose use and mentioned some of the building’s fine features, such as the observation deck, that she would like to see preserved.

Gomes said FHI is going to take all of the comments and survey data and turn it over to the BOS for consideration and next steps.

“The town is looking to, if you are supportive of some sort of reuse, issue a request for proposals (RFP) for reuse of the property,” he said. “In which case various developers of entities would put together what they believe is a viable use of the property and the town could review those for feasibility.”

Gomes said the possible reuse of the building is an ongoing conversation with the public that will continue as the town narrows down the options.

“Ultimately if there is a proposal that meets the towns needs that you find appropriate as a community, what is possible is that the property could be transferred, whether it is a lease or by sale, and that may potentially come to a town meeting or some sort of public referendum,” he said.

First Selectman Tom Banisch said this is the start of the discussion and encouraged residents to stay involved.

“This is the beginning of a very important process for our town,” he said. “So as many people as we can get involved and active will make it a more successful process.”

Survey data and a workshop summary will be presented at a future BOS meeting for followup.

Academy School: A History

While much of the discussion has focused on the future of the aging school building, its long history has been a key player in many of the current discussions.

The current school was built in 1921 and was later added onto in 1935. It was in use for decades before being closed in 2004. The building was then turned over to the town in 2011.

In 2012, the Ad Hoc Academy Investigation Committee was established to determine the best use for the building going forward. At the time, several third parties came forward expressing interest, including the Shoreline Arts Alliance (SAA) and local developer William Plunkett, who expressed interest in creating 40 to 50 units of housing in the space. Committee Member David Kadamus previously said the committee determined the building would be best for town or community use.

“The committee had a nice mix of people that represented a lot of different interests in town and we did several town meetings that were extremely well attended,” Kadamus said. “In general the feedback was that they wanted that facility, because it is so close in proximity to the Green and the historical nature of Memorial Town Hall, there was a real feel that that whole area of Madison needed to be preserved for its historical nature.”

The suggestion was passed onto the BOS, which approved the suggestion. Former first selectman Fillmore McPherson previously said the BOS was unanimous in its opinion.

“We thought that having an arts center would be very good for the town, it would make good use of the iconic old building, and that it would be a draw for people to our downtown area,” McPherson said. “People would come for lessons and studios and all of the things that go along with the arts center.”

The town was in discussions with SAA for close to three years before the plan to turn the building into a cultural arts center began to deteriorate. SAA walked away from the project in July 2016, citing a lack of progress over recent months and a shift in business terms, leaving the town to come up with a new plan for the aging facility.

The town opened the building up in fall 2016 to sell the numerous school items left in the building. In September 2016, the town attorney shared with the BOS that the conditions of the deed of Daniel Hand, requiring that the building be used for an educational purpose, had in fact been released in 1958, relieving the town of certain development restrictions.

Since then, the town debated the appropriate time and way to solicit public input on the building, eventually settling on public meetings run by a facilitator.