Developers outline plan to convert Brown School into 29 senior affordable units; neighbors press for parking buffers

Developers and Newburyport City planning staff on Tuesday detailed design and financing plans to convert the historic Brown School into 29 one-bedroom senior affordable apartments and answered neighbors’ questions about parking, trash pickup and site buffers.

Andy Port, director of PL development for Newburyport City, said the city completed demolition of the gymnasium and will retain the adjacent park portion of the site while the Brown School building itself is being rehabilitated. "We will be starting to do some park design for the park space that's been preserved for the neighborhood," Port said, and reminded attendees the project requires a special permit and site plan approval under local zoning.

Zeta Tal, the project developer with Zeta Insight, said the Brown School conversion will produce 29 senior units "affordable in perpetuity," with unit rents targeted to households at roughly 30%, 50% and 60% of area median income. Maloney Properties will manage leasing and run the lottery when units are available. Tal said the project is pursuing state low-income housing tax credits and historic tax credits and that the Affordable Housing Trust has committed $450,000 as local match to strengthen the funding application.

"We were invited to compete in the EOHLC March funding round," Tal said. The team said it expects a decision by late summer or early fall; if the award is successful, the developers intend to close financing and begin construction in spring 2027, with a 20–24 month construction and lease-up period that would aim for public occupancy in spring 2029. Tal cautioned that a failure to secure funding this cycle could delay the schedule by roughly nine to 12 months.

Architect Dan Riggs of Embark described the scope of work as an adaptive reuse of the 1924 structure, a small accessibility addition and interior gut rehabilitation that retains the exterior historic fabric. Riggs said the plan includes 29 units, 31 parking spaces, and upgrades to accessibility (roll-in showers, counters set at 34 inches and an accessible entry sequence). He said the team will refurbish most historic windows to be operable and add interior storm windows to improve thermal performance.

Neighbors pressed the team on elements of the site plan during a question-and-answer period. One Prospect Street abutter said parking and trash areas back directly up to three homes and asked for a green buffer. "It looks like that's an afterthought on Prospect," the resident said, citing concerns about noise, vehicle fumes and reversing beeps. The development team said the parking layout is constrained by zoning requirements, vehicle maneuvering and the need for pedestrian access to the building entry; the presenters removed two parking spaces from an earlier plan to allow a modest planting strip and said they would ask the architect to re-examine buffer options.

On trash pickup, the developers said trash will be consolidated in an enclosed compactor and that service will not be daily. "That's going to be not every day — that's going to be once or twice a week," a member of the development team said, adding the compactor will be fenced and tucked into the site to minimize visual and odor impacts.

When asked about traffic impacts, the project team said their study shows a marked reduction in vehicle trips compared with the site's prior school use. "Our traffic analysis shows a 98% reduction in traffic," the team said, estimating roughly six morning and eight afternoon trips for typical senior-housing activity.

The presenters also reiterated that Lot A (the building and immediate site) will be conveyed to the developer for long-term maintenance, while Lot B (the playground, basketball court and other park features) will be retained and maintained by Newburyport City’s Parks Division. The city said it applied Community Preservation Act funds to design the park improvements and plans at least two community engagement meetings with the landscape architect this fall.

The team invited residents to the Planning Board's site plan and special permit hearing scheduled for July 15 and said slides and project materials will be posted on the city's Planning & Development web page and distributed via a project mailing list and on-site QR code.

Questions and requests from neighbors that the presenters said they will continue to explore include additional planting or trees along the Prospect Street fence line, finer details about compactor screening, and whether minor adjustments could be made to reduce impacts on adjacent yards. The Planning Board hearing will be the formal venue for site plan review, public comment and any conditions the board may impose.

The meeting closed with the project team promising continued outreach and a reminder that any final schedule hinges on state funding decisions.