AUBURN, Mass. - Mary D. Stone elementary school is a fixture in the town of Auburn, dating back to 1927.
Teaching ended here almost seven years ago, but the building’s doors are open again to serve a different purpose.
New apartments will house seniors 62 and older, and some of its residents needed no introduction to their new home.
“I believe I’m in my second-grade classroom, Mrs. Sullivan. And so far so good,” resident John Noonan said, remembering the name of his second-grade teacher. “It’s a wonderful apartment.”
Besides the renovations, they added a new section behind the original building, allowing for 55 units total. Hildy Marshall welcomed Spectrum News 1 in for a tour of her apartment, complete with all the necessities and plenty of room for comfort.
“When I got the call, I had just moved previously, so I wasn’t sure about moving a second time,” Marshall said. “So, when I walked in and saw it, I was like ‘I have an opportunity to live here?’ And I was very happy about it.”
The National Low Income Housing coalition estimates for every 100 low-income households in Massachusetts, there’s only 48 affordable rental homes on the market. Lieutenant Gov. Karyn Polito was on hand for the ribbon cutting ceremony and spoke to the importance of closing the gap.
“This was clearly a problem before the pandemic that has only been exacerbated by the needs that people have coming out of the pandemic,” Polito said.
While much of Thursday’s discussion on these units focused on the benefits for seniors, state Representative Paul Frost said that’s not the only demographic that could stand to benefit from this project.
“When folks come here, that means that most likely, their single-family home is now going on the market for a young family,” Frost said. “Or maybe somebody first starting out.”
Other speakers at the ceremony included representatives from the project's developer Pennrose, Auburn Town Manager Julie Jacobson, and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA 2nd District).