Worcester panel OKs window replacements at 2 schools

WORCESTER The Worcester Historical Commission has given green lights to window and door replacement projects at two elementary school buildings.

The commission granted waivers tonight to the citys demolition delay ordinance for May Street School and Lake View School, which will have their windows and doors replaced under the states Accelerated School Repair Program.

The waivers allow both projects to forgo the 12-month delay called for in the ordinance.

Paul Moosey, assistant commissioner of engineering in the Department of Public Works and Parks, said May Street and Lake View are among five city school buildings that will get repairs under the accelerated repair program overseen by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

He said the state will pick up the tab for 80 percent of the project.

Because both school buildings are listed on the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System, they fall under the purview of the demolition delay ordinance, which mandates a 12-month hold on demolition of or planned changes to historic structures to allow time to explore alternative uses.

The replacement of windows is one of the many provisions included in the demolition delay ordinance.

May Street School, at 265 May St., was built in 1927; a gymnasium/addition was built in the 1950s. Lake View School, at 133 Coburn Ave., was built in 1922.

Mr. Moosey said the contracts the city has signed with the Massachusetts School Building Authority specify what can and cannot be used when it comes to window replacement materials. He said the windows also have to reach certain energy codes.

As a result, repairing the original windows or replacing them with the same kind of materials could not be an option, he added.

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Worcester panel OKs window replacements at 2 schools