W. Harwich School Held Up As Redevelopment Model

HARWICH – The conversion of the 1871 West Harwich schoolhouse to housing was recognized by the Cape Cod Commission last week as a creative way of repurposing historic buildings. 

Developer John Carey, who purchased the derelict schoolhouse from the town for $175,000 in 2022 and has converted it to seven apartments, with an additional three units in a second building constructed on the site at 5 Bell’s Neck Road, was a guest speaker at the annual One Cape summit held at the Wychmere Beach Club. 

Carey spoke at a forum on "Redevelopment and Reuse: Reimagining Historic Structures.”

The two-day One Cape summit included forums on the environment, climate change, development, housing and recreation connecting regional initiatives with national models and best practices while showcasing local leadership and success stories.

“I’m so excited to see this vacant historic structure turned into a use like this,” Sarah Korjeff, historic preservation specialist with the commission, said during a visit to the former schoolhouse last Wednesday. “Nice job. I’d like to see more of this.”

“Thanks for paving the way,” added Talitha Abramsen, housing resource program manager at Community Development Partnership in Orleans.

Carey’s project was completed on Aug. 30 and the first tenant moved into a unit on Sept. 1, he said. The tenant who has moved in is a 23-year town employee. Carey said he has more than 40 applicants for the market-rate units.

“Every applicant is from Cape Cod. We’re trying to do local preference,” Carey said.

The project included three affordable units, and Carey is waiting for final clearance from the state before leasing those units. He praised the cooperation of the town in developing the project, having received $605,000 from the affordable housing trust to assist with the affordable housing units. Carey said it cost him $290,000 each to develop the 10 units. 

The one-bedroom units average about 550 square feet. There is one two-bedroom unit on the third story of the schoolhouse which will rent for $2,600. The two basement units will rent for $1,950 each and the second floor one-bedroom units will rent for $2,150. The affordable units rent will be capped at $1,700, Carey said.

Planning Board Chair Duncan Berry, also one of the founders of Captains’ Row, an initiative seeking to preserve the historic captain’s houses in the village, praised Carey’s efforts. Berry said Carey is a developer who wants to work with the community, and his project has been an inflection point for the village. 

“It all started when you guys stopped the Dollar Store,” responded Carey, referring to a proposal for a discount store in the village that was shot down.

Carey was joined in the One Cape presentation by Timothy McElroy, who has restored the Captain Obed Baker House, also known as The Columns, on Route 28 in West Dennis.

“They told great stories of how historic buildings can be used for multi-family housing,” Korjeff said of their presentations. “The crowd was really behind them.”

Carey is planning on restoring the nearby former Captain Baker house on the corner of Route 28 and Depot Street, moving that structure to the rear of the lot and at the front constructing a replica of the Exchange Building, which was the cornerstone of Harwich Center for more than a century before being torn down by the town in 1964. The Exchange Building was a 58-by-100-foot, four-story structure. Carey said he is planning to bring plans for the Captain Baker property before town boards in November. He has reduced the number of units proposed for the property by 10 to 29 units, he added.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation also has big plans for the West Harwich village with the reconstruction of 1.1 miles of Route 28 from the Herring River Bridge to the Dennis town line, with amenities including brick sidewalks and period lighting.