ADAMS, Mass. - The Adams Memorial Middle School hasn’t been used as a school for almost a decade, and now, after years of trying, the town finally has an agreement in place to redevelop the building.
At its meeting on Wednesday, the Board of Selectmen voted to approve the project proposed by Providence-based developer Wayland North. The plan is to convert the classroom wing of the building into about two dozen one and two-bedroom apartments.
The town will maintain control over the building’s auditorium and gym, and will continue to hold community events there, completely separated from the new apartments.
Town administrator Jay Green is relieved to finally have a project in place, and is glad it will provide the town with some much-needed new housing.
“It’s quality housing,” Green said. “It’s attracting engineers from General Dynamics, employees in the hospital system, our educational centers. It’s about making Adams a strong bedroom community that offers a diversity of housing from the beginning of your housing when you move out of your parent’s house, all the way to the end when you have someone who has a single family home and decides to say they want to downsize.”
Green also noted there’s still a lot of financial work to sort out behind the scenes, and construction likely won’t start for another 12 to 18 months.