Local Bank Pledges $250K to Support Newburyport Recreation Center Amid Mixed Response from City Council
A proposed $8.2 million Newburyport recreation center has found support from a local Newburyport financial institution. Newburyport Daily News announced that the Institution for Savings has pledged $250,000 pledge for the construction of a new recreation center. However, three of Newburyport’s City Council members remain unsupportive of the project.
Mayor Sean Reardon thanked the Institution for Savings for the pledge and noted how the completed center, which would be located at 59 Low St., will offer art studios, a convertible gym, and community gathering spaces for children and adults.
Updated designs revealed in mid-January showed spaces in a new center supporting community events and individual activities. The layout includes designated youth areas that allow staff to monitor activities from nearby offices.
The new community center would be conveniently located next to Nock Middle and Molin Upper Elementary schools and connect to existing athletic facilities. Construction companies began evaluating the project on Jan. 8 and submitted bids in February.
Officials in support of the project have said the new location would make recreational activities easily accessible. Once complete, this facility would complement Newburyport’s existing community spaces.
To help fund the center’s construction, Reardon has proposed placing a potential $4.5 million debt exclusion vote before residents during a special election on May 6.
The rest of the funding would come from a $2 million bond, along with $1.8 million from the sales of the Kelley and Brown school buildings, funds obtained through opioid settlements, and another approximately $2 million from donations. Those donations include $200,000 from the Mary Alice Arakelian Foundation and $200,000 to $300,000 a year for five years from the recently established Mayor Andrew R. Curtis Memorial Fund.
Despite the financial commitments, some Council members such as At-Large Councilor Connie Preston voiced concerns about the project’s financing. They questioned whether Reardon’s administration would be able to keep the project to $8.2 million without significantly going over.
“To be clear, I don’t expect the IFS or anybody in particular to come forward with millions of dollars,” Preston said. “Given the overall cost and scale of the project, we are millions of dollars off from where I would feel comfortable with it.”
