GREENFIELD — After several years of vacancy, City Council has voted to declare the Green River School as surplus property and the building will be sold, with a request for proposals expected to be issued in the late spring or early summer.
The 62 Meridian St. school was closed due to issues with its heating system, and the Math and Science Academy moved out at the end of the 2016-2017 school year. In the years that followed, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) provided more than $1 million in grants and loans for repairs necessary to reopen the school. However, those repairs were not made, and the school never reopened.
Mayor Ginny Desorgher, who also serves on the School Committee, explained that an “educational service” organization had expressed interest in acquiring the property; however, at City Council’s December meeting, Council President Lora Wondolowski said that though the property has attracted some interest, it has no potential buyers.
Wondolowski added that a lack of clarity from the state as to which uses the property can accommodate might be intimidating to potential developers.
“I spoke to the mayor about this last week. … There’s interest in the property, but there aren’t any actual buyers,” Wondolowski said at the Dec. 17 meeting. “Some of the frustration is that the state won’t tell us that the interested parties are OK under the educational restriction on the property until after they get the offer and go to the state. … That is potentially scaring away some buyers.”
In previous discussions on the school’s reuse, former Superintendent Christine DeBarge cited MSBA paperwork stating that the building is supposed to be used for educational purposes for 50 years following the city’s receipt of the funds.
Desorgher, in June 2024, argued that although there was a lack of clarity as to which kinds of organizations could set up shop at the former school, she believed an educational facility that involved children would be the safest bet.
“There’s a little bit of an unknown with that, and if it’s an educational use that involves children, that may very well suffice. We’re opening a door, going to the other side. We don’t know what’s on the other side, but there are two decisions here — whether the building remains vacant or not,” Desorgher said at the time.
In a phone interview on Wednesday, Desorgher and Chief of Staff Erin Anhalt said they are working closely with the MSBA to explore future possibilities for the Green River School, which was constructed in 1948 and had its gymnasium added in 1993, according to the city’s website. The building sits on 2.82 acres and the property’s total assessed value is $1.76 million, according to its property card.
Heading into 2026, the city is hoping to issue a request for proposals for the sale of the property in late spring or early summer.
“It’s complicated,” Anhalt said. “The MSBA has said they really hope for it to continue to be an educational facility.”
“The next steps will be issuing an RFP and that will be written to say we’re looking for an educational organization,” Desorgher said.
Desorger added that she hopes the city is able to find a potential buyer that is not only an educational organization, but an organization capable of taking on the responsibility of making the necessary repairs and renovations at the property.
“The heating system is not working and that will be the big expense,” she said. “I’m hoping that would be included in the sale agreement.”