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The land in question. Google Map image.
ANSONIA — Mayor David Cassetti’s administration and the city’s school superintendent are moving toward purchasing land on Pulaski Highway for a new middle school.
The Ansonia School Building Commission at its Nov. 17 meeting directed corporation counsel John Marini to negotiate with the landowner for a possible purchase of 64 — 78 Pulaski Highway.
Then, at its Nov. 28 meeting, the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission meeting gave its unanimous support for the city to purchase the land.
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The land is owned by Ansonia Orchard LLC/Fortitude Capital, which purchased the property in July for $1.15 million, according to city land records. The New York City-based Fortitude Capital is the firm owned by Margaret Streicker, a Republican from Milford who has made recent runs for the U.S. Senate and U.S. Congress.
Marini declined the specifics of the potential deal. Any proposal would have to be taken to the Board of Aldermen.
“I’m still in discussions with the property owners on the value of the property,” Marini said. “If terms are reached, we will bring this before the Board of Aldermen for purchase.”
If the city and school district move forward with the intent to build a new middle school, voters would have to approve the spending by referendum.
Marini said there’s no timeline at this point.
Ansonia Public Schools Superintendent Joseph DiBacco said the Pulaski Highway land is a good location for a new middle school, especially since there are no large parcels available in Ansonia. The 58 acres that Ansonia High School is currently situated on, also on Pulaski Highway, was looked at by the committee as a potential middle school site but was ruled out because of environmental constraints.
“The prior studies that we conducted identified areas for school construction, and this parcel of land (64 and 78 Pulaski) is most suited due to its topography; it’s flat with very little earthwork needed,” DiBacco said. “Other parcels had huge fluctuations in topography requiring earthwork and were closely situated near wetlands and encroached on wetlands. This parcel is better suited due to its proximity to the sister schools in the district. It allows for shared spaces, allows us to increase recreational areas and allows us spaces to bring students during unforeseen events, like evacuations, for example.”
DiBacco said the current middle school on Howard Avenue is more than 85 years old, and the costs to make the necessary upgrades as opposed to building a new school would be pretty similar, based on Ansonia’s reimbursement rate.
School construction projects are eligible for reimbursement, up to a point, from the State of Connecticut.
DiBacco had said renovating the existing middle school with a “like new” renovation could cost about $16-$18 million, as opposed to building a new building elsewhere for about $20 million.
The committee has a lot of data to tap into regarding Ansonia Middle School, thanks to a recent regionalization study with Derby. While talks to regionalize between Ansonia and Derby failed, each city was able to take stock of their school buildings, and members had deemed Ansonia Middle School needs to be replaced.
Aldermanic President Josh Shuart who serves as the building commission’s chairman had said a new middle school has been on the city’s radar for a long time. Previous long-range facilities studies have shown the building, built in 1936, has extensive code compliance issues, lack of usable outdoor space and odd-shaped rooms. Steady enrollment over the years, and projections for the future, also show the need for a new, 6 – 8 school, DiBacco said.
“The most preferred and acceptable configuration is a 6 – 8 model; we moved our sixth grade to the middle school in preparation for this,” DiBacco said.
