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Hopkinton Center School rendering 1

UPDATE: At the May 2 Town Meeting, $2.4 million in Community Preservation
Act (CPA) funds were approved for the Center School Project.

What is happening with Center School?

Hopkinton Center School rendering 2

Brief overview:
For eight years, Center School has sat vacant. It is a deteriorating building on valuable property, an underutilized town asset. Hopkinton has a rare, once-in-a-generation opportunity to change that.


A partnership between the Town and The Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA) aims to transform Center School into a vibrant community space that serves families, supports local programs, and enhances downtown Hopkinton.


Phase One of this project focuses on preparing the site for the future: removing the old rear buildings, remediating hazardous materials, and protecting the historic 1928 building that will anchor the next phase of development.


This initial step would use approximately $2.4 million in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds. This is money that has already been collected and is specifically designated for projects like this one. Importantly, using these funds will not raise taxes.

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This is a practical investment for the town that provides town control of the future of the Center School property, preserves a historical Hopkinton landmark, and promotes the advancement of cultural enrichment to benefit families in our community.

What Happens Next? How can I Help?

Hopkinton Center School rendering 3

The HCA, Community Preservation Committee (CPC), and Permanent Building Committee (PBC) ask you to vote YES to leverage existing CPA funds to initiate the Center School Revitalization Project at the May 2, 2026, Town Meeting. This project achieves the following objectives:

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  • Required Remediation: The demolition and remediation of phase one advances essential work to revitalize the space, and is the necessary first step to transform Center School from a liability to a vital community asset.

  • Historical Preservation: The longer-term vision of this project endeavors to preserve the legacy foundation of this town treasure, with the original 1928 building to serve as the centerpiece of a vibrant new community center.

  • Practical Utilization: Transforming the Center School property into a community center not only brings new cultural resources to Hopkinton but also serves as a growth engine to promote enhanced foot traffic in town for small businesses and enhances activities on the Town Common with additional parking.

  • Generational Opportunity. Rarely do we get the chance to meaningfully impact the face of Hopkinton’s downtown. Help support our effort to restore this cherished historical treasure and provide the families of Hopkinton with a new resource for cultural and community enrichment.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Hopkinton Center School rendering 4

  • PHASE ONE:
    The building was originally constructed in 1928. The “front building” will remain and be renovated in Phase Two. The second building was built in the 1950s and the third in the 1980s. Those two buildings have a significant amount of hazardous materials and are not historically significant. In Phase One, the two “younger buildings” will be torn down, the hazardous materials removed, and the interior of the 1928 historical building will be opened to ensure there are no additional hidden hazards. This work will ensure a complete building restoration design which results in a more attractive project to the potential contractors bidding on the Phase Two work due to the assurance that there are no hidden concerns.

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    The cost estimate for Phase One is $2,400,000. CPC is recommending the town use its discretionary funding from the 8 million dollars that they have in the CPA account. The project will be managed by the town and will go out to bid this fall if the warrant article passes at town meeting. 


    PHASE TWO:
    The renovation of the 1928 historic building and the cost estimate for the additional lobby/rear entrance are $14,400,000. CPC has committed an additional $4,000,000 to that phase of the project; the HCA will raise all funds needed for their portion of the renovation and the HCA and Town of Hopkinton will partner on raising the additional funds. Fundraising efforts have already begun.

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  • CPC funding stands for Community Preservation Committee funding, which comes from the Community Preservation Act (CPA) in Massachusetts.

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    • The CPA (passed in 2000) allows towns to raise money through a small surcharge on local property taxes (up to 3%). That local money is matched each year by the state-specific community purposes: using a trust fund funded by real estate transaction fees. The money can only be used for:

    â—‹ Open space preservation
    â—‹ Historic preservation
    â—‹ Affordable housing
    â—‹ Outdoor recreation

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    Towns that have opted for CPA funding have a Community Preservation Committee (CPC) that reviews project proposals and recommends how the money is spent.

    • Hopkinton adopted the CPA in 2001 and charges a 2% property tax surcharge to fund it. The State matches an additional 18% of the locally collected funds.

    • The CPC in Hopkinton manages and recommends how those funds are allocated.

    • Past projects funded using CPA money include:
      â—‹ Fruit Street Athletic Complex
      â—‹ Historic Train Depot
      â—‹ Terry Farm renovation to HCA

    • Total CPC funds currently available in Hopkinton are approximately $8.3 million, of which approximately $5 million is available for the Center School project. CPC with Town Meeting approval can borrow for projects and repay the loan from future CPA revenues.

  • NO. The 2% surcharge of Hopkinton residents' property tax allocated to community preservation is already accounted for in your tax bill. 

  • NO. CPA funds are legally restricted to four specific categories:
     

    • Open space 

    • Recreation

    • Historic preservation

    • Community housing (affordable housing)
       

    A new school doesn’t fall into any of those categories.

  • NO. Hopkinton’s CPA account receives an average of $1.7 million per year, the bulk of which is from the local surcharge, with the remainder from the State match.


    Why does it vary year to year?


    CPA revenue is not fixed. It changes based on:

    • Property values and new construction (affects local tax revenue)

    • Real estate activity statewide (affects the state match)

    • Number of CPA communities sharing the state pool
       

  • Although the Center School Re-Use Committee recommended keeping the Center School Property as a Town asset, the PBC felt it was prudent to explore other options given the expected renovation costs and the current financial strain on the Town’s budget. In 2024 Hopkinton advertised an RFP (Request for Proposals) to sell the Center School property to the private sector just as the Town sold the old high school located at 85 Main Street. The Statewide advertisement resulted in minimal interest with only two responses from private developers.

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    The private development proposals that were received were for multifamily housing which would require a change in the existing single-family zoning of the property. Both offers were rejected by the Town since they were well below the independent appraisal value of $3,600,000, the potentially adverse impact to the neighborhood character from multi-family housing and possible increase in school enrollment.

  • Once the Town determined there was little interest from private investors, it returned to the Center School Re-Use Committee’s recommendation to keep the property as a Town asset. However, in an effort to lessen the taxpayer’s burden of renovating the building, a public/private partnership was explored based on the concept of an Arts District. This led to the Town issuing a new RFP seeking a joint venture with private arts related organizations willing to occupy part of the building with other Town services, specifically Parks and Recreation and Youth and Family Services. That RFP led the Town to accept a proposal from the HCA, which provided several benefits.

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    • The Hopkinton Center for the Arts (HCA) programs will serve as a vibrant anchor to this location in support of downtown revitalization

    • The HCA provides financial support for part of the renovation cost

    • The HCA gains needed space with a long-term lease

    • Future operating costs will be shared between the Town and HCA

    • The Town maintains ownership and control of the property

    • Creating space for three entities (HCA, P&R, and Y&FS) who are already closely aligned to offer more programs for the community. Restoration of the historic building will allow the Town to use CPA funding to further lessen the burden on taxpayers.

      If you have any additional questions we have not answered here, please feel free to reach out to Kelly Grill at kelly@hopartscenter.org, and we will do our best to answer them.

       

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