WILMINGTON, MA — The creation of a Town Building Repurposing Committee was discussed at the Wilmington Select Board Meeting on Monday, October 23, 2023.
“Once the new senior center and town hall/school administration buildings are opened, the Town will have four vacant buildings: (1) Town Hall at Glen Road (built in 1958), (2) Roman House (built in 1900), (3) former Arts Center on Middlesex Avenue (built in 1860), and (4) Buzzell Senior Center (built in 1935),” now-retired Town Manager Jeff Hull wrote in a memo to the Board. “It is advisable to begin discussions now about the future of these buildings so that the Town does not have multiple vacant buildings standing for extended periods of time.”
The new Senior Center — located next to St. Dorothy’s — is expected to open in December 2024. The new Town Hall/School Administration Building — located in the rear of the Town Common parking lot, at the bottom of the hill next to the existing Senior Center — should finish construction in the later summer or early fall of 2025.
Hull explained that long-term vacant buildings become both a cost and maintenance challenge for the town’s Department of Public Buildings. He further noted that vacant buildings will also cause the town’s insurance costs to increase.
Hull suggested the Select Board form a committee of 7-to-9 members, consisting of residents and town officials, to seek public input on possible uses for the properties, which range from an indoor recreational facility with ice rink to affordable housing.
“The make-up of the committee should include residents, a representative from the Historical Commission, the Public Buildings Superintendent or his designee, and perhaps designees from the Select Board and Finance Committee,” added Hull. “The committee should be charged with exploring options including removal of some or all of these buildings, renovation and reuse for specific purposes with the expectation that a report be submitted to the Select Board by a date certain with recommendations.”
Hull cautioned the Select Board that three of the soon-to-be vacant buildings — the Roman House, the Buzzell Senior Center, and the former Town Arts Center — are located within the Village Centre Historic District. The Wilmington Historical Commission obtained this destination on the National Register of Historic Places more than 30 years ago, and it is predicated on the number and types of older buildings in the area of the Town Common, Church Street and Middlesex Avenue.
“Consideration should be given to the impact on the district if these buildings are considered for removal,” wrote Hull.
Select Chair Gary DePalma is vocal proponent of the Committee.
“Any building that we have empty, we’re still insuring and heating. Insurance costs go up. I’m looking at fuel costs today too. There’s a cost to keep the buildings closed and secured,” said DePalma. “If we decide a building no longer has a purpose, let’s discuss what we want to do with it. What’s the cost to tear it down? Could we sell [the property]? There are so many avenues… and I want a committee to concentrate on it.”
Selectman Frank West, who previously served on the Historical Commission, volunteered to serve as the Select Board’s representative to the Town Building Repurposing Committee.
Later in the meeting, retired Wilmington Police Officer and former Historical Commission member Paul Chalifour, who helps maintain the popular You Knew You Grew Up In Wilmington-Burlington-Billerica-Tewksbury When Facebook group, expressed an interest in filling one of the resident spots on the Committee.
When asked by Selectman Greg Bendel what the next steps would be, DePalma said the Select Board will formally vote to establish the Town Building Repurposing Committee at its next regular meeting, scheduled for on Monday, November 13, 2023 at 7pm.
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