Rehoboth Land Swap

The Town of Rehoboth has entered into a land swap agreement with the Housing Authority.

Paul Jacques, chairman of the Housing Authority, has proposed constructing 30 units of senior housing. The group is working with the Women’s Development Corporation, the Historical Commission, and the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) on the project.

In exchange for giving the town a parcel of land off of Anawan Street, the Housing Authority will be given ownership of the land on Bay State Road which contains the Anawan School and the adjacent site where the former Council on Aging was located.

 “We want to continue this partnership,” Selectmen Chair Skip Vadnais told Jacques on Monday. “We’ve come a long way.”

No Trespassing signs and protective fencing were put up around the Anawan School in June 2021 after William McDonough, the town’s Building Commissioner, said the building at 53 Bay State Road was “unsafe.”

McDonough reported 90 percent of the ceilings had collapsed and all of the hardwood floors were “completely buckled and rotted.” The building was also impacted by extensive water damage. McDonough ordered the building be demolished within 90 days. The CPC and Historical Commission fought to save the building from being torn down.

The interior of the Anawan School would need to undergo massive renovations, Jacques noted. The exterior would be preserved for its historic value.

“The Town benefits by not needing to spend money to perform the demolition, and obtains six acres of land abutting existing property we already own on Anawan Street,” Selectman Michael Deignan wrote in the May 2022 town meeting warrant.