Posted: 10/16/2022 4:24:03 PM
The CenterPoint Church congregation voted against selling land to the Concord School District, leaving district officials to seek other options for the location of Concord’s future college.
In a vote that took place over two Sundays, October 9 and 16, parishioners at CenterPoint Church decided not to enter into a purchase and sale agreement with the Concord School District, putting thus ending the project to build a new Rundlett Middle School on a 38 acre parcel at 129-139 Clinton Street.
“It was great to work with them. We knew that was the process when we introduced it in February and here we are,” Concord School District Business Administrator Jack Dunn said Sunday. “Both sides looked at an opportunity years ago with partnership ideas, but now we will look in a different direction.”
It will be up to the school board to decide whether to continue the search for new properties for the Rundlett building or to continue the project using the current Rundlett site on South Street.
Concord School District officials first announced their interest in purchasing the church land in March. The school district has since submitted a request for state building assistance for a $176 million project, but did not specify a location in its request.
The district was interested in the site because of its proximity to Memorial Field and Concord High, it has enough space to allow for outdoor learning opportunities, and can accommodate a potential partnership with Concord YMCA. Also, the land is already tax exempt because it belonged to the church.
A community group called Rebuild at Rundlett has been advocating for the South Street site since early summer. The group was concerned about heavy traffic and disturbance to green space and wildlife at the Clinton Street site, and made their voices heard at school board meetings and with lawn signs around town.
Concord School Board members will discuss their options at a capital committee meeting on November 2.