The 110-year-old elementary school was vacated in October when the city bought a former Catholic school and renovated it.
Workers from Sitterly Movers in Springfield move furniture and equipment from the Belcher School on Southwick Street to its new location on Montgomery Street, site of the former St. Patrick's school in October,
CHICOPEE - Saying the city no longer has a use for the now-empty Belcher School building, officials have agreed to begin the process to sell the building.
The 110-year-old elementary school building at 10 Southwick St. was vacated in the fall when the 260 kindergarten to second-graders moved to the former St. Patrick’s School on Montgomery Street. The new school was renamed Belcher School as well.
“There is some market interest in (the old) Belcher School,” Mayor Michael D. Bissonnette said. “We will strike while the iron is hot.”
The City Council voted 12-0 recently to authorize the city to request proposals from developers who may be interested in purchasing the former school building.
“The building isn’t currently being used. There was interest expressed in the property,” City Councilor Frederick T. Krampits said.
If there is some interest in the school, instead of waiting, the city should market it right away, he said.
“Hopefully something good will go in there,” Krampits said.
The city had originally planned to use the school to house students from Chicopee Academy temporarily while the school they currently attend, the former Chicopee High School, is under construction. The city is planning to convert that four-story high school into a middle school.
City Council members said they were happy to put the former Belcher School out to bid as long as there is an alternative solution for Chicopee Academy students.
When construction begins on the former Chicopee High School, Chicopee Academy can be moved to Chapin School, which has been closed since 2005. A less attractive option is to keep students at the former Chicopee High while renovations are occurring and move them to different areas depending on where work is being done, Bissonnette said.
After renovations are finished, students and staff will be transferred to different schools and Chicopee Academy will get its own permanent building.
The city has tried to market the former Chapin School with little success. One 2008 proposal from a private developer who wanted to convert it into housing for the elderly fell through because he could not get proper financing.
“The last thing we want is another boarded-up building,” Bissonnette said.