Rudolpho DeLeon, an employee at Corte Estilo on Commercial Street, stands at McManus Field, the possible location of a new middle school in Lynn. (Photo by Paula Muller)
By Thor Jourgensen
LYNN — They raised some concerns about increased traffic, but people living and working in the neighborhood bordering McManus Field where the city wants to build a middle school say they are generally happy with the plan.
“I like the idea. Kids learn more in a modern school. It’s partly about the technology,” said resident Celeste Cordero.
Cordero has lived for 19 years in one of the Neptune Towers high-rise apartment buildings overlooking the field. Wedged between the commuter rail tracks, Commercial Street and Lynn Vocational Technical Institute, the field is the proposed home for a 1,008-student middle school.
Cordero has seven grandchildren, including two middle schoolers. She said many middle school-age children live in Neptune Towers.
Commercial Street barber Rudolpho DeLeon only sees positives with the city plan to build on McManus Field.
“It’s good for local education and it will bring customers,” he said.
McManus Field is one of two sites approved by the city’s School Building Committee to be future middle school locations. The committee last Friday picked McManus Field and a site for a proposed 652-student school near Breeds Pond off Parkland Avenue.
City Inspectional Services Director Michael Donovan said city officials will meet on Thursday with Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) officials to review the site choices.
Tentative plans call for building a middle school on the field’s Commercial Street side with an entrance way off Commercial. Donovan said the front of the building would face the commuter rail tracks.
“This is very preliminary,” he said.
The site plan shares similarities with the location of the new Marshall Middle School. Opened in April, Marshall was built on a vacant industrial site on Brookline Street bordering the tracks.
Donovan said McManus Field’s size is not the only reason it is a good school site. He said information gathered by the school department indicates many of the city’s middle school-age children live in West Lynn neighborhoods, including ones south of Lynn Common, near the field.
“It’s a good site. It’s where the kids are,” he said.
Ernesto Perez agrees with that assessment but wonders where young athletes will play and practice if McManus Field becomes a school site. His automotive repair business has been on Commercial Street for almost 10 years and he is also worried about a school adding traffic to Commercial.
Donovan said preliminary school construction plans will preserve field space located on the field’s Tech side.
Marvin Pojoy lives off South Common Street and likes the idea of a middle school coming to his neighborhood.
“It’s good. My children would be close to the school,” he said.
A new school will also boost Commercial Market’s business, said Silvia Urrea. She works in the little store down Commercial Street from the field.
“The street will be busier and we will have more customers,” she said.
Talliah Brown grew up in the Marian Gardens housing complex and offered another reason why building a middle school on McManus Field makes sense.
“It will mean a lot of jobs for the community,” she said.
The $183 million two-school proposal, if approved, would see the MSBA contribute $114.5 million towards the two schools or 62.5 percent of the cost with the city paying for the remainder.
Thor Jourgensen can be reached at [email protected].