The Portsmouth Housing Authority has proposed building 127 workforce housing units on city-owned land at the former Sherburne Elementary School. (Photo by Deb Cram, Seacoastonline)
Mayor Deaglan McEachern said he can’t help thinking about “all the people” he has “said goodbye to over the years in Portsmouth that have been forced out.”
During a recent tour of the former Sherburne Elementary School, McEachern said it’s hard for him “not to want something that could have allowed all of those folks to stay” rather than being priced out of living in Portsmouth.
The former school, which was built in 1930, is proposed to be part of a major work-force housing redevelopment project at the 5.2-acre site. It is planned to be built by the Portsmouth Housing Authority (PHA) on the city-owned land off Sherburne Road. A total of 127 housing units are planned.
McEachern was joined on the tour by PHA Executive Director Craig Welch, City Manager Karen Conard and a number of city councilors and staff members.
The city leaders weighed in on a variety of issues, including the importance of creating workforce housing, the condition of the school, rent prices for the apartment, and the future of the school’s gym.
The school has been vacant since the end of the last school year, when Robert Lister Academy, the city’s alternative high school, moved to Community Campus.
City and PHA officials got to see for themselves the features in the former school — including large classrooms with high ceilings, hardwood floors and multiple windows that start at waist level and rise nearly to the ceiling.
PHA’s plan, according to Welch, is to convert what is now classroom space into eight one-bedroom apartments inside the school in addition to two new buildings totaling 119 units behind the old school.
Read the full story at Portsmouth Herald.
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