Shawsheen School Reuse

The exterior of the Shawsheen School, a large brick structure.

The Town of Andover is in the process of considering the future use of the Shawsheen School. This process will entail extensive public engagement to gather community input on the best use of the property. 

The Shawsheen School is situated on 4.59 acres in the Shawsheen Heights neighborhood at 18 Magnolia Avenue. The property was deeded to the Town of Andover by the American Woolen Company in the 1920s. The deed stipulated that the site should be used for school purposes. In 2015 and again in 2023, Town Meeting took action to petition the legislature to change the use of the parcel from school purposes to general municipal purposes. 

The existing Andover Public Schools Preschool at the site is set to move to the recently completed West Elementary/Shawsheen Preschool next fall and will vacate the current facility at the end of the 2024-2025 school year in June. The Town will take occupancy of the facility on July 1, 2025.

Potential Short Term Options

Short term use of the site refers to the period between July 1, 2025 and the final decision on future use of the site. Options for this period include:

  1. Recreation Programming: Andover Recreation would host recreation programming while a long-term use is determined. 
  2. Mothballing Building: Building would be termporarily deactivated while a long-term use is determined. 

Potential Long Term Options

Long term use refers to the permanent reuse based on the out of community input. All long term options would require a 1-3 process. Optons include:

  1. Municipal Use with Limited Investment: Reusing the facility for municipal purposes with minimal investment.
  2. Municipal Use with Major Investment: Reusing the facility for municipal purposes with significant investment.
  3. Selling the Parcel: The Town may consider selling the property for redevelopment.

The Town of Andover has initiated an extensive public engagement process to determine the community's preferences for the short term and long term use of the Shawsheen School. Two public meetings have been held on March 5, 2025 and April 16, 2025.

Members of the community are encouraged the provide input on the reuse of the Shawsheen School by submitting comments via e-mail to: shawsheenreuse@andoverma.us 

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