When a large and prominent building is shuttered it’s never good news for the neighborhood that surrounds it. Empty buildings, especially older ones, can quickly become blighted eyesores and targets for vandals. It sometimes takes years for such buildings to be successfully marketed for redevelopment. In the interim, they can cause a lot of headaches for neighbors and police.

In light of this reality, the downtown Pawcatuck neighborhood likely held its collective breath when the West Broad Street School closed permanently as one of Stonington’s public schools in the spring of 2019. Located in a densely populated historic neighborhood, the brick structure opened to great fanfare in 1900 and served Stonington students for nearly 120 years. But when two expanded and renovated elementary schools were completed - one at Deans Mill and the other at West Vine Street - it appeared West Broad’s days as a school were done forever.

By fortuitous coincidence, however, St. Michael School officials were seeking larger accommodations for the Roman Catholic school at about the same time as West Broad closed. In May 2020, the town agreed to lease the building to St. Michael and the venerable brick structure reopened its doors to students that fall.

The agreement meant the town would not have to pay to heat the building, keep the lights on, make any interior repairs, or take care of landscaping and snow removal. For the neighborhood, the agreement minimized the risk of vandalism and blight. Best of all, the move from nearby Liberty Street for St. Michael School meant happy student voices would continue to ring out from the school building and its playground.

Now, Stonington residents are fortunate to have an opportunity to make this arrangement more permanent. The original three-year lease between the town and the Catholic school will expire near the end of the upcoming school year and St. Michael is requesting an extension - this time for 15 years. The proposed new lease would continue to require a $300 monthly rental payment by the school, but expands St. Michael’s responsibility for the building to encompass all operational costs, as well as capital repairs and improvements.

Even under the current lease, the school and its supporters have demonstrated how serious they are in ensuring the building provides a great educational environment for students. They have invested some $365,000 in interior repairs and school volunteers have spent many hours helping with various maintenance projects there.

The Stonington-St. Michael agreement already has produced many benefits for the town, the neighborhood and local schoolchildren. Extending the lease further protects this historic building and ensures it remains vital and integral to the downtown Pawcatuck community.

We urge Stonington residents to approve the lease extension when they are asked to do so at a Sept. 12 town meeting. We only wish the extension would be even longer than the proposed 15 years.