The Springfield school district and city officials have announced plans to build a new German Gerena school on a plot of land that housed a former city school, Chestnut Junior High School.
Advocates have been asking for a new school for decades — citing multiple problems with the building, including flooding in the basement and a public walkway on its lower level.
Azell Cavaan is the chief communications officer with the Springfield Public Schools. She says Gerena is one of their larger schools with nearly 600 students.
"It's a high profile, very busy building with these issues in the middle of a very vibrant community," she said. " And so to know that this change is now underway has really brought just a lot of excitement. And I think a sense of satisfaction because so many people have been advocating for this for so long."
City officials say the new Gerena School will be constructed at the site on the corner of Prospect and Chestnut streets, in the North End section of the city.
Springfiel Mayor Domenic Sarno said in a statement Gerena has been "an anchor" for the community.
The project will be funded through a combination of city and state funding through the Massachusetts School Building Authority.
Officials said after performing required studies, consulting with the neighborhood and school community, exploring all options, including renovation, relocation, and replacement, the city opted to move forward with a new building. The previous Chestnut Junior High School building was built in the early 1900s and was demolished in 2014 after a fire. The site currently sits vacant.
"My administration is ready to go and break ground to build a brand new state-of-the-art Gerena School in our North End neighborhood," he said.
Superintendent of Schools Sonia Dinall, Ph.D. said the new building is an investement in the future of Springfield students.
“Our students deserve learning spaces that inspire them, support them, and reflect the greatness we know exists within them," she said.
Cavaan says administrators are currently figuring out a timeline when the construction of the new school will begin and where to relocate students when the time comes.
The cite was purchased by the city from the New North Citizens Council which had plans to turn it into a community center in honor of the organization's founder, Barbara Rivera. Plans for the center at that location were scrapped as the non-profit dealt with employee issues including the firing of its executive director Maria Ligus, according to The Republican.
The agency has since hired Vanessa Otero to serve as the executive director. During the announcement this week she said plans for the center are on-going at a different location. She called the new use for the former Chestnut Junior High land, "a powerful investment in economic mobility," for children and families.
"Access to high-quality learning environments is directly connected to long-term opportunity, stability, and success," she said.
NEPM's Elizabeth Román contributed to this report.
