Brookline To Investigate Newbury College Site For School, Town

BROOKLINE, MA — Brookline is going to spend $100,000 to evaluate whether the western portion of the old Newbury College property could be used for a school or some other town use, town officials announced Tuesday.

"This is an important first step," said Select Board Chairperson Bernard Greene. "It's a relatively small amount of money, but it's an incredibly important first step in a process."

At the Annual Town Meeting in May, the Select Board announced that it didn't win the bid to buy the nearly 8 acres of college property on Fisher Hill. Still there was some hope. The deal between the college and the highest bidder was not yet finalized and town officials said they were looking into other possible ways to acquire the property.

A number of Town Meeting members and residents expressed hope that the nearly 8 acre property, which came on the market this spring, could help ease crowding concerns at Brookline Public Schools. Others pointed out the property is within a couple of blocks from the Runkle School, saying another school in the neighborhood could be redundant. Others said they'd like to see a town outdoor swimming pool on the property. Still others said it could be used for Department of Public Works. Although no one seemed to be able to agree on what it could be used for, they did seem to agree it was worth purchasing.

Then, earlier this month the unnamed national real estate developer who won the bid to purchase the property approached the town and offered it the opportunity to purchase the west side of Newbury's campus, according to Town Administrator Mel Kleckner.

While the Select Board asked for $50,000 to be used to study the land to see if it's possible to put a three-section school - either a k-8 "or some other educational facility," on the land, the advisory committee upped the amount and asked that the evaluation include other town uses.

The district has already done a preliminary study, but this will be more specific to the portion of the land that a developer has offered the town to purchase. It will look into traffic and parking issues, among other things.

"This is the town is very enthusiastic about Newbury College, maybe a little too enthusiastic sometimes," said Greene during a select board meeting this week. "But this is a first step in the process."

The money will come from the reserve fund. About $32,000 was left over from the Newbury Acquisition Committee, according to Greene, which was put together following the most recent Town Meeting.

The Select Board moved approval of the reserve fund transfer Tuesday night for the study.

Some residents worry that without a consensus on what exactly to use the property for, the town could waste money and be mired in debate for years before it's able to put the property to good use.

Previously:

Brookline Still Eyes Newbury College Property, Possible Deal

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).