NEWS

Town seeking proposals for veterans housing

Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center eyeing the former Poland and Streeter schools

Doneen Durling
ddurling@thegardnernews.com
Streeter School was most recently used by the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center for local veterans. [News staff photo by Doneen Durling]

WINCHENDON — A request for proposals has gone out for the land and building development of the former Poland and Streeter schools located on Murdock Avenue between Park Street and Oak Street. Town Meeting in October voted to limit redevelopment of the property to low-income housing for veterans.

Charles Murphy, executive director of the Montachusett Veterans Outreach Center (MVOC) in Gardner, came before voters during the fall Town Meeting to explain what MVOC would do with the property if its bid was accepted by the town. He said he understood that the offer has to go out to the public for the town-owned property, but he has expressed interest in redeveloping the historic buildings since May of last year for veterans. The Streeter School was used by MVOC most recently as a local veterans outreach center.

Murphy said MVOC has not submitted paperwork yet.

“There is a fair amount of work to be done to even apply,” he said. “You need plans and specs and resumes. It’s a lot of work.”

The team has been getting it ready to file in a “timely manner.”

Murphy explained that the funding mechanism would not be grants but a variety of low-income housing tax credits.

“It’s going to be a variety of different efforts with a tax credit angle,” he said.

Winchendon’s near-unanimous vote to redevelop the property for low-income veterans housing was not an unusual move for a town that has supported veterans consistently, even voting a portion of the Winchendon town forest for a final resting place for veterans.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Massachusetts veteran homelessness decreased 7 percent (or 68 persons) from 2018. On a single night in January 2019, 917 veterans were experiencing homelessness.

Murphy has been director of MVOC since the spring 2019. He first learned of the proposed project when he came on board in November 2018. He began talks with Town Manager Keith Hickey and Planning Director Tracy Murphy, and then enlisted consultants familiar with such projects for veterans organizations, and a plan was put together. The proposal would be to build 25-30 one-bedroom apartments for veterans housing for both men and women.

Murphy said the veterans who will be seeking the housing units will be an array of various ages. He said the net benefit for the town would be the two schools being brought back into use.

“They are beautiful schools,” he said. “Just the architecture. Bringing that parcel back to life I think is a great benefit.”

Murphy said the location is perfect, overlooking the town common with the beautiful Old Murdock Senior Center rounding out the historic plaza.

“Bringing that whole plaza back I think is a big benefit to the town,” he said.

Murphy said that the housing would ultimately add a whole other layer to the personality of the town between retired veterans and veterans going to work every day.

“It is only going to benefit the town,” he said. “The bottom line is there is a demand out there for veteran housing.”

Applications for the project are required to be submitted by Feb. 10. Murphy could not predict an end date because of the work required just to put a shovel in the ground.

“Once the shovel goes in the ground, it is probably a 10-month project,” he said, projecting a two-year time frame to complete the whole mission.

Hickey said the town’s hope is to see the property renovated solely for veterans housing.