NEWBURYPORT — Starting tonight (Monday), the City Council will begin deliberating Zeta InSite’s plan to turn the former Brown School into senior affordable housing, when it receives a measure asking to sell the property off as surplus.
At the same time, a new proposal from Ward 1 City Councilor Sharif Zeid and at-Large Councilor Heather Shand could also see the potential sale of the former elementary school benefitting a proposal to build a new recreation center on Low Street.
“This is something we’re really excited about,” Mayor Sean Reardon said, referring to the Low Street proposal. “I think everyone sees the potential for this being a big win for the city and they all want to be involved, which is great.”
In fall 2021, the heating system at the former Milk Street school was deemed unusable, leaving the building vacant ever since.
The mayor has long said he wants to see senior affordable housing built on the property.
In November, he picked Zeta InSite’s initial plan to build 29 apartments there. Eight of those units would have been considered affordable to households at 80% of the area median income (or AMI) of $127,306, while the remaining 21 would be market rate.
The Boston-based real estate development company’s proposal was, however, met with skepticism from many residents who preferred the YWCA Greater Newburyport’s plan to build 43 affordable senior housing units.
But last month, Zeta InSite owner Zeina Talje seemed to win many people over when she came to City Hall to present her company’s plan to now offer a 100% affordable project that includes 29 units.
Shand said she was so impressed by Talje’s presentation that she co-sponsored the disposition measure with Zeid. If approved by the council, the order would declare the Brown School surplus while also selling it to Zeta InSite for $450,000.
“I sat there and said, ‘this is exactly what the community wants,’” she said. “We wanted it full, senior affordable at reduced affordable rates. The neighborhood was also amenable to 29 units and this came back with all of that.”
Of the sale’s proceeds, half ($225,000) would be used to improve the building’s public park and green space. The property’s playground would then be merged with that area to create the new George W. Brown Park.
“We need to maintain something that the city’s going to keep,” Shand said. “And that will need to be resurfaced, after construction.”
The remaining $225,000 has been earmarked for the mayor’s plan to build a recreation center at 59 Low St for the newly named Recreation and Youth Services. In a kind of synergy, the Brown School used to be the home of that department, which has been on the hunt for a new base of operations ever since the building became uninhabitable.
In 2022, the city purchased the former National Guard building at 59 Low St. for $220,000 in free cash with the idea of moving the then-named Newburyport Youth Services there.
Early last year, Reardon presented a $6.5 million to $7.7 million plan to build a new recreation center at the Low Street address. It includes an outdoor basketball court, modular gymnasium, conference room and snack bar.
The $225,000 from the Brown School surplus would be used to build the gym.
“I think we have what the community finally wants for the Brown School,” Shand said. “I also think it is time for the council to move forward with the efforts we need to make it senior affordable housing.”
Reardon said his administration worked directly with Shand and Zeid to put the measure together.
The mayor said he expects it could be sent to the council’s Planning and Development subcommittee and possibly the Budget and Finance as well as General Government subcommittees.
“They will decide on the floor where it will be sent to,” Reardon said.
Reardon added he’s currently working on a development agreement with Zeta InSite. He said he hopes the council will pass the disposition order by the end of February/early March.
In order for the project to move forward, the zoning for the Brown School overlay district will also need to be changed. Zeid said he and Shand also authored an order that would up the maximum allowed units in the district from 20 to 29.
Zeid added he had submitted the order along with the disposition measure but it was not on the agenda for Monday’s meeting. The Ward 1 councilor said Friday afternoon that he would be speaking with the City Clerk’s office to see if he could get the zoning order in the agenda as a late file.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.