Community Spotlight

An architect’s rendering of the planned Longmeadow Middle School. Construction is slated to start in the fall of 2026.

Marty O’Shea says officials in Longmeadow have been discussing what to do with the town’s two middle schools — Williams and Glenbrook — for nearly 20 years now.

The former was opened in 1959 and the latter in 1968, he noted, adding that, beyond their advancing years, the schools were designed to serve a different model of education than the district currently requires.

Charting a course for the school properties and securing funding from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) has been a long journey with many twists and turns, said O’Shea, Longmeadow’s school superintendent, adding that, 18 years after the town first submitted both schools to the MSBA for consideration for renovation or replacement, construction is slated to begin in the fall of 2026 on a new, $151 million facility that will replace both schools.

It will be called Longmeadow Middle School, and it will provide the community not only with a state-of-the-art facility — to be built on the Williams Middle School campus — but a unique development opportunity on the Glenbrook site.

“Our education plan calls for more space that will give kids the opportunities to be involved with project-based learning and give us more opportunities to expand science, technology, and engineering opportunities for kids,” O’Shea explained, adding that the design also prioritizes supporting special education students and the arts, both the performing and fine arts.

“Our education plan calls for more space that will give kids the opportunities to be involved with project-based learning and give us more opportunities to expand science, technology, and engineering opportunities for kids.”

As for the Glenbook site, “we’ll start looking at what to do there soon, so that we don’t wait until the property is vacant to begin that process. We won’t start any construction or final plans, but we will start the community discussion,” said Town Manager Lyn Simmons, adding that the 20-acre campus could have several potential uses, including housing in a community where there are few, if any, available building lots.

Resolution of the middle school question and conjecture about the future of the Glenbrook site are just two of the many converging stories in this residential community of almost 16,000 people. Others include:

• A pending Planning Board vote in early December on a proposal to redevelop the site of a closed Church of Christ, Scientist on Williams Street, abutting the Longmeadow Shops. Plans call for demolishing the church and constructing three buildings to house retail tenants, a bank with a drive-thru, and a coffee shop with a drive-thru — a complex that would, in many ways, serve as an extension of the shops;

An architect’s rendering of a proposed new retail facility, to be built on the site of a closed church on Williams Street.

• Work to design improvements to the busy intersection at Williams Street, Redfern Drive, and Frank Smith Road, a project inspired by the project on the church property and made possible by a $287,000 MassWorks grant;

• Ongoing work to decide the best uses for three other town landmarks — the Community House, formerly home to some town offices and now used primarily as a polling place; Town Hall, mostly vacant since town offices were moved to the former Greenwood Park Elementary School off Maple Street; and ‘Old Town Hall’ on Longmeadow Street, vacant for many years. Simmons said a task force will be appointed to consider options for each site and determine the best course of action;

• Early-stage work to replace aging water and sewer lines (60% of which are more than 100 years old), beginning with a water line replacement project, approved at town meeting last month, that will begin with Western Drive. These initiatives have been accompanied by 40% increases in water and sewer rates, which were comparatively low and are still lower than many in the region, Simmons noted;

• A growing stable of eateries — a sushi restaurant and one specializing in Indian cuisine are two of the latest additions — that has made the town a dining destination; and

• Continued growth of a small but eclectic business community, one that is based mostly in retail and hospitality.

That list includes Twin Hills Country Club, which has enjoyed a very strong year, both on the course and with its event business, said Laura Chipouras, club manager.

She told BusinessWest that, in addition to tournaments, weddings, and showers, the club has seen a surge in business-related gatherings, everything from annual retreats to sales strategy sessions.

“We’re seeing lots of retreats, and I think that’s probably due to people returning to the office after COVID and feeling that they need to get together,” she explained, adding that, overall, business has brisk — well ahead of last year’s pace — and the bookings for 2026 have been solid.

For this latest installment in its Community Spotlight series, we take an in-depth look at Longmeadow, and some landmark decisions being made there — literally and figuratively.

School of Thought

Reflecting on the middle school project, O’Shea — who has been superintendent for nine years now — noted that, while discussions on the two facilities began nearly two decades ago, the town had other priorities to address, such as a new high school, senior center, and DPW facility.

With those resolved, the middle school discussions resumed, with consolidation emerging as the best option over time, as capital needs grew and enrollment in each of the schools fell to roughly 300 in recent years.

That puts them on the smaller end for middle schools, he said, adding that other communities and districts of similar size, such as neighboring East Longmeadow and the Hampden-Wilbraham School District, which he served as an administrator, have one middle school.

“We did a citizens’ survey just to find out what people wanted to see happen there, and those results were interesting. There was a lot of attachment to Community House, a moderate attachment to Town Hall, and very little attachment to Old Town Hall.”

And there are several advantages to be gained through consolidation, he noted, both on the educational side and the operations side.

“On the educational side, in a single setting, I think we’ll be able to assign staff in ways that are more efficient and also better for us educationally,” he explained. “Right now, we have staff that are, in many cases, stretched across two buildings, such as in the areas of music and oral language, library, and special education.

“We think that having all our educators under one roof will put us in a better position to serve students,” he went on, “and we’ll be able to expand programming.”

Meanwhile, the town should see substantial savings from staffing and operating one larger school rather than two older structures that are now well beyond their expected useful life and in many ways inefficient, he went on, noting that the new, 134,735-square-foot facility will be fossil fuel-free, rely on a ground-source heat exchange system for heating and cooling, and be net-zero ready, meaning it will produce as much energy as it consumes.

“You’re maintaining one campus instead of two, you’re maintaining and repairing one campus instead of two, food service — you’re running a single operation instead of two,” he explained. “On the operations side, there are some opportunities where we could see come savings.”

O’Shea and other administrators and staff have visited several communities that have constructed middle schools recently, including several built by Springfield-based Fontaine Bros., recently chosen as the general contractor for the Longmeadow project, and they’ll visit more as the design process continues and the focus shifts to furniture, fixtures, flooring, lighting, and materials used.

While that project moves forward, the attention of many town residents is also fixed on the church redevelopment initiative.

Simmons noted that the review process has been slowed by the need to conduct a traffic study and undertake it while school is in session. There have been several Planning Board hearings on the matter, with questions on everything from traffic to storm drainage, she said, adding that a decision is expected soon — perhaps early this month.

The project and the increase in traffic it is likely to produce will necessitate work on the traffic corridor in the area near the site, where several roads converge, said Simmons, adding that, when designs for improvements are finalized, the town will apply for a MassWorks grant round to fund construction.

Past Is Prologue

While the middle school and church redevelopment projects move forward, another initiative enters its next phase.

This would be the ongoing work to determine the best possible uses for three unused or underutilized municipal facilities — the Community House, built in 1920; Town Hall, dating from 1939; and Old Town Hall, originally a one-room schoolhouse, built in 1855.

As noted earlier, a task force will be created to consider various options and perhaps suggest an action plan, said Simmons, noting that property condition reports on the three historic structures, submitted by the Springfield-based engineering firm Fuss & O’Neill in September, have unveiled lengthy lists of work needed at all three.

At the Community House, for example, the report concluded that several million dollars in repairs and upgrades are needed — everything from repointing brick to prevent further deterioration and water intrusion to an elevator for access to the second floor, to regrading and repaving the parking area to improve drainage.

There are similar lists for the other properties, she said, adding that, when summing up public sentiment on the landmarks, there are varying degrees of appetite for investment and eventual redevelopment.

“We did a citizens’ survey just to find out what people wanted to see happen there, and those results were interesting,” she told BusinessWest. “There was a lot of attachment to Community House, a moderate attachment to Town Hall, and very little attachment to Old Town Hall.”

Some possible uses were floated in that survey, she went on, adding that there was little sentiment for housing in any of the structures, with most residents preferring an arts and cultural center, a restaurant or café, or recreational programs at all three, with moderate enthusiasm for other uses, ranging from retail to co-working space to a museum.

Ultimately, much will depend on the development community, she said, adding that applications for the task force are being sought, and it is hoped that the panel can wrap up its work in a year.

As for the business community, it continues to grow, especially within the retail and hospitality sectors, said Simmons, adding that the town’s location — it’s convenient to East Longmeadow, Springfield, and Northern Conn. — has made it a retail and dining destination.

That same location has benefited the event business at Twin Hills, said Chipouras, adding that the club has several different event rooms, including a ballroom that can host up to 400, and they’re being booked for a wide range of functions — including BusinessWest’s eighth annual Women of Impact gala on Dec. 9. As noted earlier, business is up across the board, but she is especially encouraged by a rise in corporate outings.

On the day Chipouras talked with BusinessWest, for example, two of the smaller banquet rooms were being used for corporate retreats, which certainly took a back seat during COVID, and there have been several days like that over the course of the past year.

“Later this week, we have an accounting firm coming in to do a class on new tax laws, and we have a bank that’s doing a very large retreat, a learning session,” she noted. “They start early in the morning, and at the end of the day, they do cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.”

Meanwhile, there has also been a surge in proms, weddings, and holiday parties, another tradition that took a hit during the pandemic and the years that followed.

“I’m seeing them come back,” said Chipouras, adding that, while the club sees a large amount of repeat business with clients, it has added new clients to the portfolio as well.

In short, she sees positive momentum — and in this mostly residential town with a small but growing business community, she’s not the only one.