Rockport focuses on future of RES site at public meeting
ROCKPORT — For the past several months, Rockport has invited its citizens to weigh in about the future of the former Rockport Elementary School site via a survey. In total, the town received 339 responses, and Tuesday evening, April 5, 6-7:30 p.m., those opinions will be discussed.
“We hope many will show to this meeting to see if the responses are guiding us in the right direction,” said Rockport Planner Orion Thomas.
During the meeting, the Portland-based NewHeight Group, which was contracted by Rockport, will present the results of the Rockport Elementary School Redevelopment survey.
A public comment period will follow. The meeting will be held in person at the Rockport Opera House and will be scheduled for 90 minutes. The meeting will not be streamed live, but it will be recorded, said Thomas.
“There will be a public engagement section, where participants can ask questions or make statements and New Height Group will collect that information/engage with the crowd to incorporate the new data for the next round of engagements,” said Thomas.Questions on the survey concerned housing, the character of the town, and the priorities of individual citizens, as represented by art and culture, business, community identity, and more.
Following approval by voters (791 to 569) at the 2021 Annual Town Meeting, the town has contracted with the NewHeight Group for $35,000 to provide a market survey to evaluate development feasibility, develop a conceptual site program, and work with professionals to create conceptual renderings for the former Rockport Elementary School site, “on terms and conditions that the Select Board determine to be in the best interests of the Town to maximize the value of the property to benefit Rockport taxpayers,” per the town meeting warrant article.
NewHeight’s proposal anticipates a vote to made on the sale of the land in November 2022, and any necessary zoning changes to the property completed prior to then. Located at the corners of routes 1 and 90, the 7.4 acre property is owned by the town, and a public vote is required to authorize the transfer of such land to a developer.
From 1954 to 2011, the site fell under purview of the Camden-Rockport School Board, which constructed a series of buildings there over the decades to house thousands of local elementary school students. A mold problem, combined with crumbling foundations and deteriorating walls, resulted in the major expansion of a newer school — Camden-Rockport Elementary School — a half-mile west on Route 90 in 2009. The school district walked out of the old RES for the last time in 2008, and the school was demolished in April 2013.
The land subsequently reverted to town ownership, opening debate about what to do next with it, a debate that has continued for 11 years.
Now, the NewHeight Group is gathering opinions in order to produce a conceptual rendering for the RES site.
“In order for NHG to do this, they first need to collect some data from the Town,” wrote the town’s Planning Office, in an email to potential survey participants. “Please take the survey and circulate it amongst others. The more participation we have with this process the better the result will be.”
Reach Editorial Director Lynda clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657
