ABINGTON — July 13, 2026 — The Abington Select Board convened Monday night to advance several critical town business matters, highlighted by the finalization of an award letter to Causeway Development for the historic redevelopment of the North and Center Schools. Under the landmark deal, Causeway Development will acquire the buildings “as is,” netting the town approximately $2 million up front. The developer will utilize federal and state historic preservation grants, housing tax credits, and MBTA funding to preserve the iconic 1938–1939 Art Deco brick exteriors while transforming the inside into 56 units of mixed affordable housing, a move projected to add between $350,000 and $400,000 annually to the town’s tax roll for each building.
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Town Manager Mike Maresco presented the completed award letter to the board, detailing a project that officials have sought to get moving for the last six years. The buildings are sold strictly as is, meaning the town is permanently relieved of all liability and future maintenance costs.
The developer intends to leverage historical tax credits, MBTA funding, and affordable housing grants to restore the properties, with plans to preserve original interior Art Deco features such as the vintage floor tiles. Neighbors near the residential Thaxter Ave vicinity of the Center School had raised mild spatial concerns, but Maresco clarified that the development features a relatively small spatial footprint.
A playground located on one corner of the property will be legally carved out to remain a public green space. Maresco noted the steep slope adjacent to the property and mentioned he would ask the developer if they would be willing to construct a stairway or walkway to make accessing the green space safer for residents.
“[The developer is] going to rehabilitate... there’ll be nice-looking, beautiful buildings, and there will actually be a boom for the neighborhood. When you walk through there, you can imagine what it was like when people went to school there.” [01:17:15] — Mike Maresco, Town Manager
The legal agreements dictate that the developer cannot formally take possession of the building currently utilized by the Department of Public Works (DPW) until April 2027. However, Abington’s Building Committee is actively targeting Thanksgiving of this year to transition the DPW into a new facility. The timeline leaves the town with a multi-month winter window to box, conserve, and move town records currently stored there—some of which must undergo drying and restoration due to a prior water leak in the building.
