Where is the future home of the Greenwich Public Schools? Central and Havemeyer both look unlikely
GREENWICH – A potential bombshell fell at a recent Board of Education meeting: Could the new Central Middle School also house the central office for Greenwich Public Schools?
“There has been some discussion among board members about other opportunities to happen at Central Middle,” board member Joe Kelly said.
School board member Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony “was speaking of bringing the Havemeyer administration as part of the building project. Wouldn’t that have to be discussed way early? ” Kelly asked at a meeting in April.
The district is set to build a new Central Middle School, which is slated to open January 2026. The educational specifications outlining the needs of the new building will soon be completed, but Kelly spoke with annoyance that the school board hadn’t yet met with. consultants regarding those educational specifications.
Meanwhile, the home of the district’s central office, the Havemeyer Building on Greenwich Avenue, is aging, and First Selectman Fred Camillo has said that he has ideas for moving the district offices out of the aging building.
During the meeting, school board member Christina Downey said the possibility of building administrative offices at Central Middle School had been discussed with the consultants crafting the project’s educational specifications. But the consultants said the idea wasn’t practical, Downey said.
The discussion took a couple minutes of the four-hour meeting, only referencing behind-the-scenes conversations about the project.
Camillo told the Greenwich Time that the future of the Board of Education building was yet to be determined, and Kelly said he doesn’t believe the idea of bringing the central office to Central Middle School “will come to fruition.”
Havemeyer Building
More than 100 employees of the Greenwich Public Schools work in the aging Havemeyer Building, which also includes a warehouse and a print shop. The building, which was originally a school, was given to the town in 1892 by Henry Osborne Havemeyer, according to the Greenwich Historical Society.
“It’s in bad shape, and it’s the town’s responsibility,” Camillo told the Greenwich Time. Restoring the brick 19th-century building would cost about $ 50 million, according to an estimate the town received.
“Havemeyer certainly needs a lot of TLC the Board of Education can’t afford,” Kelly told the Greenwich Time.
Now, Camillo is looking to private-public partnerships to pull off a renovation while dreaming up a new use for the building, which is in a prime location.
“It’s an extremely valuable piece of property, and it’s been underutilized for years. Certainly, having the Board of Education do something that works for them is of utmost importance, ”he said in an interview.
“They don’t need all that space. … I think it’s a very bad use of what is prime real estate. ”
Camillo indicated that he has received bids for exciting possibilities for the building, but he is waiting for an official bidding process to begin. He did not confirm any intended future use for the Havemeyer Building.
The town is also reviewing any agreements made with the Havemeyer family about the donation of the building, Camillo said.
Board of Education
So in the meantime, the future home of the Greenwich Public Schools’ central office is up in the air.
“At this point right now, as far as the educational specifications go right now, we’re not putting the Havemeyer employees on the Central Middle School campus,” Kelly said.
Mercanti-Anthony said he had suggested Central as the central office site about six months ago – before the school was condemned in February and closed for a few weeks and before the replacement project got the greenlight.
“I’ve purposefully not broached that subject since it was condemned,” he said.
The school board has not reached a consensus about moving out of the Havemeyer building or finding a new home. Camillo said he is working in consultation with the Board of Education and Superintendent Toni Jones.
After the town budget is finalized this week, Camillo said he expected to announce a committee with district leaders that would guide the future of the district’s headquarters and the Havemeyer building.