Ideas For Bridge Street School Redevelopment Sought

The Town of Suffield wants firms and companies to submit competitive and interesting ideas for the reuse of the Bridge Street School property.

The request for expressions of interest (RFEI) issued by the town is a non-binding process that allows interested parties to present concepts and plans for consideration and further exploration.

According to the RFEI, a wide range of possibilities will be considered for the property. The town is interested in plans that will use the building and land for retail, office space, cultural, educational and mixed-use residential purposes, among others.

The RFEI's project vision section states that the "historic integrity" of the school building should be preserved if it is repurposed, but the town will also consider plans that involve demolition of the existing building.

The brick school building and surrounding land, 3.43 acres in all, are located in the center of Suffield. The property is within walking distance to Kent Memorial Library, Suffield Village, the town green, Suffield Academy and more, and a short drive away from Town Hall and the CVS plaza on Mountain Road.

But the highly visible property has been a conundrum for the town. The school building has stood mostly vacant since 2004 although it is used for some town storage. It carries a cost burden of about $15,000 a year because the building needs to be heated and maintained at a very basic level to prevent further deterioration.

Idea submissions are due by Nov. 18.

For more information, examine the entire RFEI document. It is viewable as a PDF file in the photo and document box to the right of this article.