What’s Happening with the Anawan School?

The protective fencing in front of the old Anawan School on Bay State Road has been removed. The windows are boarded up and the property has been dormant.

The Town of Rehoboth made a land swap deal with the Housing Authority in 2022. In exchange for giving the town a six acre parcel of land off of Anawan Street, the Housing Authority was given control over 5.41 acres of land on Bay State Road which contains the Anawan School and the adjacent site where the former Council on Aging was located.

The goal was to convert the building into senior housing.

According to Chair Paul Jacques, plans for the project are still active.

“The RHA has made multiple attempts in securing seed money to hire a consultant to assist in the creating an RFP (request for proposals) for the Anawan Senior Housing initiative,” Jacques said on Tuesday. 

“In 2024, thanks to Senator Marc Pacheco’s efforts, in the Senate Housing Bond Bill, an amendment was adopted providing $500,000 to the Rehoboth Housing Authority towards the design and construction of new Senior Housing Units.”

Jacques said the RHA attempted to secure state funds for the Anawan Senior Housing Initiative ($15,000). The budget amendments failed to pass in last spring’s legislative session.

“Currently, the RHA is seeking other funding sources for the RHA Anawan Senior Housing Initiative,” Jacques noted.

As for the fencing in front of the Anawan School, Jacques noted: “Since the building is securely boarded up there isn't any need for the fencing.  Especially since the fencing kept falling down in the weather.”  

The Anawan School had been slated for demolition in 2021 after William McDonough, the town’s Building Commissioner, said the building at 53 Bay State Road was “unsafe” and ordered it to be demolished within 90 days.

McDonough reported 90 percent of the ceilings had collapsed and all of the hardwood floors were “completely buckled and rotted.”

The building was also impacted by extensive water damage. McDonough spotted “multiple holes on the roof” and multiple broken windows.

 “There is not a stable piece of wood in that building,” then Selectman David Perry said. “The building is ready to collapse. Nothing is salvageable.”

The Community Preservation Committee (CPC) launched an effort to save the property from demolition. CPC Director Carol Williams said the Anawan School had historic value because “it represents the beginning of regionalization of the schools.”

The Board of Selectmen rescinded their vote to demolish the building due to the efforts of the CPC.