Path Paved for Housing in Pittsfield's Former Hibbard School
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee has voted to discontinue the former Hibbard School for educational use, paving the way for future senior housing.
The building at 280 Newell St. has not been used as a school since 2009, and the district has been storing supplies in it. With three stories, it sits on nearly two acres and is surrounded by paved open space and a front lawn.
"The city is looking to take that beautiful building and repurpose it. Our intention would be to turn it into housing; affordable housing, particularly senior housing, for which we know we have a critical need in the city," Director of Community Development Justine Dodds explained to the committee last week.
"And so this is the first step. We require you to determine that this is no longer being used for educational purposes, and then it would go back to the city for us to use the building for a differing purpose."
The committee, having care and custody of the property, unanimously approved its discontinuation for educational use, determining it is no longer needed in that capacity.
Charles E. Hibbard School opened in 1924 as an elementary school and served as such for 57 years until 1981, when it became the alternative education programs.
Pittsfield is trying to secure another storage location while simultaneously working on a conversion, which Dodds said will take some time. Alternate storage considerations include space the city already owns and rented space.
She reported that they did some preliminary feasibility studies and know that it would make "exceptional" housing.
The Pittsfield Public Schools store food and other supplies, such as paper, in about 13,000 square feet of the building in a corner of the first floor.
"We need some storage space, just not that much," Dodds said.
It was a tough night for School Committee member Katherine Yon, who went to Hibbard School, but she is glad to see the building have a new life.
There was some lighthearted laughter throughout council chambers, and Yon said, "So if she’s gotta go, I suppose."
Fellow committee member Daniel Elias recognized that this has been discussed for several years now.
"So I'm glad to see that it's actually coming to fruition. I think it's long overdue. It makes sense," he said.
"Ideally, it would be nice to be able to find storage that we currently possess without having to pay additional costs, but I think affordable housing is the way to go."
Tags: housing, school reuse,
