AUBURN — The former Lake Street School will be redeveloped into roughly a dozen apartments, with a new day care facility on an adjacent lot, according to city officials.

In September, the City Council authorized the sale of the former school, along with a nearby Fern Street parcel, to developer Jim Wu for $100,000. Jay Brenchick, director of economic development, said Friday that he expects the purchase and sale agreement to be executed within the next week or two.

The two-story brick building at 80 Lake St., built in 1923, had been shopped by city staff after the School Department decided to downsize and vacate its special education program that had long operated at the school. The decision was made after it was deemed that necessary repairs were too costly for a building that served less than two dozen students.

After city officials discussed potential reuses for the property, including the prospect of new market-rate housing, an ad hoc committee was formed featuring a small number of neighbors to the school property.

Mayor Jason Levesque said Friday that staff had written into the request for proposals that the redevelopment feature a child care facility given the “desperate need for child care” services in the area. He said the state determined the school is not up to safety standards for a child care facility, which led to the proposal to develop a standalone facility on Fern Street.

He said the council requested the ad hoc committee to be formed when marketing the building to “ensure we had community buy-in.”

“This is a textbook example of how the School Department, city staff, the council and I made smart decisions based on community feedback, working with private developers to create new housing, enhance community recreation and add much-needed child care,” he said. “Additionally, this helps decrease the school facilities budget while adding more taxable value to the city.”

According to a memo from Brenchick, the committee liked the project, layout and design, also requesting that a basketball hoop that has been popular for neighborhood children be included in the project.

A conceptual site plan for the project shows the redeveloped school, an upgraded playground space, and the proposed day care building. Other amenities shown for the apartments is a patio and gathering space, and a vegetable garden.

A letter to the city from Terradyn Consultants, which is working for Wu on the project, said that in addition to the purchase price, “we pledge the immediate installation of a 60-foot by 40-foot playground, valued at over $100,000, in the location of the previous playground on the property.”

“By preserving the façade of the schoolhouse building, providing a similar use in the form of a new day care facility, and by preserving a playground within the historic parcel, we believe our proposed development will honor the legacy of this historic property,” the letter said.

Wu is also in the process of developing housing at 405 Center St. He also owns or has developed housing at 114 Hampshire St., 122 Goff St., and 96 Second St. in Auburn.

As of September, the development timeline said construction was estimated to begin in the fall of 2024. The project would likely be phased, with renovation of the school taking place first and construction of the day care to follow immediately after the apartments are completed in the spring of 2025.

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