Shrewsbury Board Of Selectmen To Hold Public Hearing Regarding The Beal Reuse Project

Press release from the Town of Shrewsbury:

December 2, 2021

TOWN OF SHREWSBURY, MA - The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing for Civico Development to present their vision for the Old Beal School property to the Shrewsbury community on Tuesday, December 7th at 7:00 p.m. The location has changed to the Oak Middle School Auditorium, 45 Oak Street. Residents are encouraged to attend to hear the presentation and provide comments in-person.

The location has changed

The Town determined in 2018 that the Beal School at 1-7 Maple Avenue was no longer needed as a public building for school purposes. In 2019, Shrewsbury worked with a consultant to create a “Visioning Study'' to look at strengthening the Town Center as a whole, with particular focus on assessing the potential of the Beal School property. Several conceptual plans for the reuse of the Beal School property were included in the final Visioning Study. In August of 2020, Town Meeting created a new Town Center zoning district that will shape future developments to be a vibrant mix of residential, commercial, and retail uses. These documents helped to inform the Beal Reuse Committee’s initial drafting of the Request for Proposals for the old Beal School property.

The Town’s efforts culminated in the solicitation of project proposals in the fall of 2020 for the redevelopment of the old Beal School. In January of 2021, the Town received a proposal from Civico Development. Some benefits of Civico’s proposal include creating new private taxable land; providing centralized public parking, increasing retail and restaurant space; increased foot-traffic for local businesses; requiring that 12.5% of all new residential units be affordable, and adding publicly accessible open space for all to enjoy. In the late spring of 2021, the Board of Selectmen entered into negotiations with Civico Development to explore the company’s proposal for a mixed-use and neighborhood-oriented development project.

The community can submit comments prior to the public hearing via email at Selectmen@shrewsburyma.gov by noon on December 7th. Following the public hearing on December 7, 2021 the community can submit feedback to the presentation by noon on Friday, December 10, 2021. This is the community's opportunity to provide input on this exciting redevelopment plan for the future of Shrewsbury’s Town Center! The Board of Selectmen encourage residents to take this opportunity to participate in the future of the former Beal School property.

This press release was produced by the Town of Shrewsbury. The views expressed here are the author’s own.