ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
KIPP Massachusetts has agreed to purchase this lot on Munroe Street for a 450-student high school.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — Opposition to a new school in the downtown is mounting.
City Councilors Dianna Chakoutis and Peter Capano met with officials from KIPP Massachusetts, which operates the Academy Lynn Public Charter School, Thursday and let them know Munroe Street is the wrong place for their proposed $20 million high school.
“It’s not the right spot for a school,” said Capano. “It makes more sense to put something there that’s integrated into the downtown, such as a commercial or residential use.”
KIPP has signed an agreement to purchase a former parking lot on Munroe Street that has been used as a community garden. The grades 9 through 12 school would house 450 students.
The parcel is assessed at $211,000 and owned by Munroe Partners LLC, operated by Gordon Hall, president of The Hall Co.
Capano said Munroe Street gets congested at times and a school would exacerbate traffic problems.
“I know space is at a premium in Lynn, but they need to find an alternative,” he said. “I will work with them.”
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Chakoutis said she organized the meeting with KIPP after receiving a handful of phone calls from constituents who wanted to know why workers were doing soil testing on the site.
“I just don’t think a school fits in the city’s arts and cultural district,” she said. “We will sit down with them again and hopefully there are some options they will consider.”
Clint Muche, the city’s deputy building commissioner who also attended the session, said the informal meeting was called to discuss plans for the 29,000-square-foot lot. KIPP could build the school as a matter of right, he said.
“They wanted to explain how they would locate a school there that would not completely disrupt traffic,” he said.
Before anything moves forward, KIPP would be required to submit a formal plan to the Site Plan Review Committee.
While they did not present written plans, KIPP has commissioned a traffic study and discussed a scheme that would have students dropped off at the nearby MBTA garage where faculty would park.
“I wouldn’t prejudge anything,” Muche said. “When they have plan, we will take a look.”
Caleb Dolan, the school’s executive director, could not be reached for comment.
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
