Stalled talks delay Lowell charter school move

The former Bradford Industries site at 1857 Middlesex St. in Lowell is slated to be the eventual permanent home of the Lowell Collegiate Charter School. SUN / DAVID H. BROW

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LOWELL -- After failing to move into a permanent location on Middlesex Street last fall, the Lowell Collegiate Charter School will again have to postpone its move there this fall as sale negotiations for the site have stalled and it has run out of time for construction.

The charter school, operated by SABIS Educational Systems, plans to renew its lease for another year at the Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church on Father John Sarantos Way, The Sun has learned.

The school will settle for another year there because construction at the former Bradford Industries warehouse site will not be completed by the beginning of the school year. That site, 1857 Middlesex St., in the Highlands section of Lowell, is slated to be the eventual permanent home of the school.

"The Lowell Collegiate board of trustees and its representatives are in the midst of facility negotiations and it would not be appropriate to comment at this time," according to a statement from Jose Afonso, SABIS Educational Systems' director of business development. "As soon as we're able to disclose additional information, we will do so."

The Lowell Collegiate Charter School initially planned to move to the permanent Middlesex Street site for the 2013-2014 school year. However, those plans were stalled a year ago because of delays in approvals from the city, Afonso said a year ago.

Planning Board members delayed voting on the project to seek more information about the effect the school would have on traffic. Neighborhood groups opposed the project because of concern about the traffic impact on an intersection that was already rated one of the worst in the state -- Wood and Middlesex streets.

Afonso said a year ago he thought the approvals would be granted in February. The final approval came on March 4, 2013, which Afonso said wasn't enough time to construct a 45,000-square-foot building for fall 2013.

Now with sale negotiations taking longer than expected, the Lowell Collegiate Charter School will not move to Middlesex Street for the 2014-2015 school year. The charter school's board and the owners of Bradford Industries on Middlesex Street have been unable to reach an agreement on the property's cost.

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Stalled talks delay Lowell charter school move