ATHOL — A plan by LaunchSpace Inc. of Orange for use of the former Pleasant Street School at 1060 Pleasant St. has been approved by the Selectboard.
The recent vote was 4-1, with Rebecca Bialecki, William Caldwell, Lee Chauvette and Holly Young in favor of it and Chairman Stephen Raymond against the measure. Raymond had previously recused himself from discussion and vote, as he is a member of the Athol-Orange Baptist Church, which had expressed an interest in the property.
Selectmen agreed to begin lease negotiations and include benchmarks within the arrangement that would be used for development of lease opt-out provisions. They also approved a request to have Bob Muzzy, a member of the Pleasant Street School Reuse and Disposition Planning Committee, to serve as liaison to the Selectboard during lease negotiations. Negotiations will be handled by town counsel, the Selectboard and School Reuse Committee.
Brianna Drohen, director and co-founder of the nonprofit told the board this is the second LaunchSpace project. Its principal place of business is on the third floor at Orange Innovation Center in Orange.
LaunchSpace proposes to lease the building and land where it is located from the Town of Athol for a renewable period of three years at a rate of $1 per month. The proposal is an expansion of the LaunchSpace makerspace business in Orange.
“Pleasant Street School complements what we want to do, with ground-level spaces, workshops and a kitchen,” said Drohen.
LaunchSpace would offer a three-tiered approach of community engagement, education and economic revitalization to the new location. The first tier would provide a set of shops where members could develop artistic and industrials skills, such as arts and pottery, IT and robotics, glassblowing and forging, wood and metal working. Also envisioned are a community kitchen and garden.
The second tier would be used as a classroom and training facility, providing skills classes, as well as certificate courses, in valuable employment skills and in collaboration with community colleges and the University of Massachusetts.
The third tier is business creation and incubation. LaunchSpace would provide access to equipment and space, as well as business consulting, financial education, marketing and other forms of support organized from the community.
The criteria sought in the Request for Proposal includes, in part, is as follows: the preservation of the school’s existing structure and utilization of green building technologies; creation of five or more permanent jobs, and the creation of new municipal revenue; minimal impact on traffic, transportation and surrounding land uses.
Use of Pleasant Street School would expand LaunchSpace’s capabilities, providing more space for classes. In a letter to the committee, Alec MacLeod, executive director of LaunchSpace, noted, “We have had positive and substantive discussions with Mount Wachusett Community College, Greenfield Community College and UMass regarding classes to be offered in the building – classes that will provide real and marketable employment skills to the betterment of individuals and the region in general. We are also excited about using the existing kitchen facilities, as we have encountered a great deal of interest in a community kitchen where people may test recipes, initiate commercial food production enterprises and learn various aspects of the culinary arts.
“We believe the operation of a community test kitchen will be attractive to the community in its own right, and will serve as an anchor to use the rest of the building for classes in a variety of topics,” he said.
MacLeod said he believes the amenities of a makerspace, in addition to the economic benefits of workforce training and business creation, combine to provide the “best possible support to enhance and expand a creative economy. “
In 2016, the Athol-Royalston Regional School Committee voted to turn four local schools — Pleasant Street, Sanders Street, Riverbend and Ellen Bigelow — back to Athol.