The now-vacant Social Security Building at 367 Main St. will open shortly as the School Department’s special needs assessment and resource center after the Haverhill City Council unanimously approved a $150,000 expenditure last Tuesday to outfit the building.
As WHAV previously reported, the federal government offered the vacant 5,600 square-foot building to the city for either an education use, or for public safety at no charge last fall. The Social Security office moved to another building at 62 Brown St. a year ago.
The city’s school department indicated it was interested in the building so that special needs programming and resources can be consolidated. Mayor Melinda E. Barrett explained to city councilors how she expected the building will be used.
“It’s going to be an assessment center, I think, for pre-k, before and after school (programs) and some one-on-one work.”
The money approved by City Council will come from the city’s 2024 municipal borrowing and be used to purchase computers, furniture and for some paint touch-ups, the mayor said. The single-story brick building, which was built in 1968, is particularly valuable to the School Department because it offers plenty of parking, is accessible and is on a bus route, according to Stephen D. Dorrance, the school department’s facilities head. It has new carpeting and is in structurally sound condition with a relatively recent roof and heating and ventilation system, he said.
The free offer came with the condition that the school department renovate the building for its desired use and get programs up and running within 12 months of its formal transfer to the city.
In arguing in favor of accepting the building last fall, Dorrance noted that the school department has an overall space shortage in its current buildings and that special needs programs are spread across the district leading to a “fractured” and inefficient delivery system.