Former Massachusetts High School Converted to Affordable Housing for Seniors

In 2022, developers transformed a century-old, abandoned school building in Southbridge, Massachusetts, into a mixed-income housing development for seniors. The Residences at Wells School has 62 apartments, most of which are geared toward low- and moderate-income households. The repurposed building has several amenities, and residents can take advantage of many services onsite and nearby.

Repurposing an Old School

The Mary E. Wells School opened in 1916 as the first public high school in Southbridge. After being converted to a junior high school, the building closed in 2012 and remained vacant for the next 10 years. The city, which owned the property, released a request for proposals (RFP) to repurpose the site. The city awarded the RFP to a joint venture between Arch Communities and WinnDevelopment, who proposed converting the building to senior apartments. The partners listed the property in the National Register of Historic Places, which allowed them to use federal and state historic tax credits for the renovation. The $26 million project also was supported by federal and state low-income housing tax credits as well as other state and nonprofit sources.

The development team spent approximately 14 months to convert the 90,000-square foot building into apartments. Richard Relich, a principal at Arch Communities, explained that the building was in good structural shape, so only limited demolition was required. Apart from removing a former garage to create a new entrance, "it was basically a restoration of the building shell on the outside," Relich said. The developers preserved the building's physical appearance and even restored some original features. For example, the developers raised the ceiling to its original height and added full-size replacement windows that closely resembled the originals, albeit with new engineering and insulation.

The interior required more rehabilitation, although the development team did not dramatically change the basic layout. The classrooms were converted to apartments, allowing the retention of the original wide hallways. The team restored several distinguishing features of the school in place, including the exposed brick walls and lockers and repurposed and reused the scoreboard and original gym flooring in the new community lounge and fitness center. A floor was installed creating a new upper level of the gym to accommodate additional units. The team also cleaned and repointed the building's original stonework.

The developers also incorporated sustainable design features. The tight building envelope and insulated roof reduce the energy needed for heating and cooling, and the newly installed low-emissivity windows help retain heat and reduce energy demand. The Residences at Wells School is certified as an Enterprise Green Community.

Senior Housing

All residents of the Residences at Wells School are seniors who are at least 55 years old. Many of the current occupants are lifelong city residents, and some even attended this school. Most of the 62 one- and two-bedroom apartments are income restricted, with 8 reserved for households making no more than 30 percent of the area median income (AMI) and 48 for those making no more than 60 percent of AMI. The remaining six apartments are market-rate units. Some apartments are geared for residents with specific needs, including those with mobility, auditory, and visual impairments, and all units are adaptable if residents need additional accommodations. Four apartments are reserved for clients of the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. The units range from approximately 800 to 1,200 square feet.

The residents have access to several common amenities, including a resident lounge and kitchen, craft room, fitness and yoga studio, media screening room, private garden, and library with private work pods. The property has a children's playroom for the grandchildren of residents. Laundry machines are available throughout the building. Residents are within walking distance of a large hospital and medical complex, and multiple restaurants, shops, pharmacies, and banks as well as a public library are within a half-mile of the property.

Services

All residents have access to onsite and nearby support services. The development offers an onsite wellness center staffed by a visiting nurse, geriatric support coordinator, and Medicare counselor where residents can receive basic medical care and screenings. Throughout the year, staff members from Tri-Valley, Inc., host several onsite events, including health fairs, dental clinics, cooking classes, and holiday parties. The service provider also offers resident support groups for those recovering from addiction. A part-time service coordinator from Tri-Valley connects residents to these and other services. Staff members can also refer residents to services such as housekeeping assistance and connect residents to activities and services at the local senior center. The town runs a shuttle to the senior center that stops at the property.

Moving Forward

Relich believes that the Residences at Wells School is having a "substantial ripple effect" on the surrounding area. In 2023, WinnDevelopment opened Southbridge Mills, a similar adaptive reuse project a mile away from the Residences at Wells School that employed many of the same funding sources to convert a portion of a 19th-century mill into 48 affordable apartments.