EAST PROVIDENCE — The former Oldham Elementary School property located on Bullocks Point Avenue was, in fact, conveyed from the School Department back to the city as has been expected, with its next anticipated incarnation being an incubator for aspiring local small business owners.

The Post learned two weeks ago of the decision by the school administration to make the proposal to its city counterparts. The School Committee, from which consent was required, by unanimous tally of the four members in attendance at its meeting Tuesday night, Dec. 13, supported the move.

Retiring At-Large member and committee chairman Joel Monteiro, who presided over his final meeting of the body last week after serving for 10 consecutive years, said recently the building, which was shuttered by the state-appointed Budget Commission in 2013 as part of its cost-saving measures, “has become a liability to the district.”

Superintendent Sandra Forand supported that assessment when quizzed on the topic by Ward 4 Committee member Jessica Beauchaine, where the original Oldham building is located. Forand agreed with the notion it would take multi-millions of dollars to bring the building up to modern codes and standards set for educational use.

When closed a decade ago the old Oldham was deemed to need a new roof and other improvements that were estimated at the time to cost upwards of $2 million.

Students and staff were initially moved to the former Meadowcrest building and eventually to the Waddington Elementary School as part of further restructuring. The Meadowcrest/Oldham location later became part of the expanded Pre-Kindergarten/Early Learning program in the district.

Since being closed it has been used as a storage facility by the district, which has maintained it pretty much in the least costly manner possible. There has been some thought the building may need to be brought back on line as an active place of learning if district enrollment increases, but upgrades about to begin at Waddington likely mean that is no longer a concern.

Forand, in fact, last week said once renovations at Waddington and Martin Middle School are completed over the next three to four years, for which $145 million was approved by voters at last month’s General Election, the administration is contemplating the idea of moving Kindergarten and First Grade into the then-vacant eight classrooms at Meadowcrest/Oldham. The entire Pre-K/Early Learning program will shift to an upgraded portion of Martin when the remodeling is finished.

The potential switch in sites for youngsters at Waddington would be part of a complete overhaul of school building enrollment lines throughout the city, Forand suggested.

Mayor Bob DaSilva was in attendance at last week’s School Committee meeting with a member of his administration, Melissa Linhares Spurr, to briefly discuss what the city proposes to do with the building and the adjacent property.

While DaSilva said the site for educational purposes would need a “tear down and start from scratch,” the requirements for it to be used by adults as an incubator are much less stringent. He also said the city is eyeing some of the $27 million it received from the federal COVID relief “American Rescue Plan Act” (ARPA) as funding to make the building functional.

In Spurr, the city administration has someone guiding the effort locally who previously worked with a similar endeavor, the “Hope & Main” small business incubator in Warren, which she said has helped foster over 400 food-related businesses during its existence. The incubator acts as a starter site for would-be entrepreneurs, who then move into their own space once their ventures begin to grow.

As well, Spurr and DaSilva both noted the nearby Providence Avenue playground could be used in conjunction with the building to serve as an alternative site for the city’s summer youth camp in Riverside instead of residents there needing to travel to Pierce Field where the program is now headquartered. Spurr also said the gymnasium at the old Oldman could be used as a community gathering space for recreational and other purposes.

There was a need to complete the transaction sooner rather than later because of impending deadlines required to earmark ARPA funds as well as the timeframe for the city to apply for the next cycle of Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management grants set to begin in early 2023.

Incoming Ward 4 Councilor Rick Lawson, winner of a first term in the seat at the November 2022 election, said he recently met with the mayor and agreed with the vision the city administration is presenting.

“I am a strong supporter of this project,” said Lawson. “The building has been sitting empty deteriorating for over a decade and we now have an opportunity to convert it into a place that will benefit the community.

"A business incubator combined with space for the community to utilize the gym is a positive reutilization of the property. I look forward to helping in anyway I can to move this project forward…Also the building was the first school I ever attended so seeing it be revitalized makes my heart happy.”

DaSilva and his administration are also expected to approach the City Council at its December 20 meeting with more details on the transaction and proposal.