Rehoboth Residents Upset Over Playground Removal

Town residents have expressed their frustration over the removal of the playground behind the old Anawan School building on Bay State Road.

Selectman Rob Johnson said Monday the town no longer owns the land. The property and the adjacent parcel, which was the site of the Council on Aging until it burned down in 2020, is now owned by the Housing Authority.

Johnson noted the playground equipment has aged so it would make more sense to build a new one instead of moving everything over to Francis Farm.

“The old playground was (maintained) by the Forestry Department through funding raised during the construction and that money has also run out,” Johnson noted. “It’s reached its age.”

Paul Jacques, chairman of the Housing Authority, has proposed constructing 30 units of senior housing. The group is working with the Women’s Development Corporation, the Historical Commission, and the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) on the project.

No Trespassing signs and protective fencing were put up around the Anawan School in June 2021 after William McDonough, the town’s Building Commissioner, said the building at 53 Bay State Road was “unsafe.”