Overview:
The renovation of the former Raymond School into municipal offices in Royalston is set to be completed by next spring. The building, which was built in 1939, has undergone a range of improvements, including the replacement of the roof and asbestos shingle removal, as well as interior work such as the demolition of walls enclosing the old classrooms. Some of the work has been carried out by students from the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, along with resident and plumber Dana Perkins, and electrician Dick Brown.
ROYALSTON – The renovation of the former Raymond School into the municipal offices is slated to be completed by next spring, according to Public Works Superintendent Jaret Thiem.
Once completed, town employees working in Whitney Hall in the South Village will relocate to the new offices.
Students from the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School arrived at the school two weeks ago to help with plumbing, electrical and other interior work, under the supervision of Daniel Brew, an instructor at the school. All of the work being done by the students is taking place on the second floor of the building, said Thiem.
Work on the former school, built in 1939 under the Depression-era Works Progress Administration, began in 2020 with the replacement of the roof and asbestos shingle removal. The old chimney was also removed. The drainage system underwent some improvement in 2019, along with the removal of an old boiler.
Work on the interior began earlier this year, when walls enclosing the old classrooms were demolished and the framing of new office space began. Some initial plumbing work was also done by resident and plumber Dana Perkins, said Thiem.
“Monty Tech will be doing the final plumbing, like hooking up faucets, that sort of thing,” Thiem added. “All of the electrical work inside so far has been done by Monty Tech. We have an electrician in town, Dick Brown, who helped with the hookup of the power service.”
The assistance of Monty Tech was secured after Royalston voters in 2024 approved a $699,000 Proposition 2 ½ debt exclusion, which covers materials for the renovation.
“I’m hoping that we might have some money left over so that we can pay for some driveway improvements,” said Thiem.
The town has also secured a $185,000 Green Communities grant to cover the installation of a new HVAC system.
“We had figured a low-cost HVAC system into the money for the debt exclusion,” said Thiem, “But now that we’ve gotten a grant from Green Communities, we can afford the Cadillac of systems. The grant isn’t going to cover 100% of the cost, but it should take care of about 95%.”
It’s possible the basement could undergo some improvements in the future, “but that wouldn’t be for another 25 or 30 years,” Thiem said. “There’s no intention of moving downstairs anytime soon.”
Once the work is complete, Thiem said the building will accommodate everybody who now has an office at Whitney Hall, and will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He added that work on the office space itself will be completed after the new HVAC system is installed.
When use of the Raymond Building for municipal office space was first considered, a much more extensive transformation was envisioned. In 2020, town officials contracted with Paul Lieneck of the Ashby architectural firm of Haynes Lieneck & Smith. Carrying out the renovation as proposed by Lienick would have cost more than $2 million, and shortly thereafter, officials began looking for a less expensive strategy.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.