EASTHAMPTON — As the city’s three former elementary schools are turned into affordable housing complexes in the next few years, the city had initially planned to maintain the Pepin Elementary School gymnasium as a public recreation space. The plan ultimately fell through, and the gym will likely be converted into additional housing units, though one city councilor thinks more could have been done to save the gym.

“In my 20 years of being a city councilor, this is by far one of my biggest disappointments,” Councilor Salem Derby wrote in an email to the Gazette. 

One of the conditions in the city’s agreement with Arch Communities, the developer turning the three schools into housing units, was that the Pepin gymnasium would be preserved for public use. In initial downtown strategic planning and conversations with potential developers for this project, the gym was identified as a valuable public space that should continue to be used as such. 

But to preserve public access to the gym, a city department or external entity would have to assume the leasing, maintenance, and operation of the space. When city officials contacted potentially interested parties, they found no takers. For the project to move forward, the City Council voted on June 25 to remove the public use provision from their previously voted upon agreement with the developer. 

“I honestly am shocked that we didn’t get a proposal,’” Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said at the meeting. She had notified every city department of the opportunity to assume responsibility for the gym space, and in particular encouraged the school district and Parks and Recreation Department to consider the option. 

“I don’t tell them what their priorities are, both departments have priorities,” she said. “When the cost all around it started adding up… they had other priorities for the money and it was a big financial burden for the departments.”

Derby was also surprised that the Parks and Recreation Department did not take responsibility for the gym, stating that they “do not run programming in the winter” and questioned why LaChapelle didn’t direct them to oversee the space “as they don't have much to do in the winter.”

“Even though the mayor said she does not tell departments their priorities, she is their supervisor and can direct them,” he told the Gazette. “It was always thought that the management of the gym would default to them … Every other city in [Massachusetts] has their Parks and Rec run sports programs and manage sites.”

LaChapelle had also opened the opportunity up to external entities, contacting the Holyoke Boys and GirlsClub, Girls Inc., Headstart, and other local organizations. While some expressed interest, nothing came to fruition. As with the city departments, cost was a major factor. 

The operating cost presented to potential gym stewards was a range of $12,000 to $14,000 a month, which was determined by the developer due to the nature of the space and their past experiences with similar spaces, according to LaChapelle.

“Both our procurement officer and city attorney did not see that range to be unreasonable for this area,” she wrote in an email. 

Councilor Derby laments the fact that no breakdown or calculation was made available detailing what went into that cost, which he said “came out of nowhere.” He also pointed out that the Elias Brookings School in Springfield retained public use of its gymnasium after a new school building was built and the original one was converted into housing, asking “how did they manage it?” and whether they faced similar operation costs. 

“Let’s be real, no non-profit has the resources to pay that much so it was a non-starter,” Derby said. “The massive figure was based on a ‘triple net lease’ which includes rent, insurance, and taxes. However, from the beginning, when we were doing the interviews, we were assuming the city would run the space.”

LaChapelle told the Gazette that a triple net lease is customary in situations like that of Pepin’s gymnasium, where multiple tenants share a space so costs are equally assessed, and where repairs and maintenance are essential to the use of the space so maintenance can take place efficiently. 

Derby said he wanted to get more information about the cost and operation of the gym before  deciding its fate, but the rest of the council believed that the city’s options had already been exhausted, and it would be best to move the project forward despite the unfortunate loss of the gym. 

“All I asked for was two weeks to get answers about this very impactful decision. I feel very disappointed that the rest of the council chose to take the mayor's word over doing our due diligence,” Derby wrote to the Gazette. “If the figure of 12-14k held up and could be justified, then I would have no problem. If we found that the Elias Brookings apartments gym was some anomaly that we could not recreate, then I would be fine with that. But we chose not to get the answers to those questions and will lose Pepin gym forever.”

“Housing with no place to recreate will not provide the quality of life that could have been achieved with a community place to recreate,” he added. 

According to LaChapelle, the developer expects to turn the gym into three to four more affordable units once approval from state housing agencies is secured. This will be in addition to the 69 units already planned across the Maple, Center, and Pepin Elementary School sites. 

The developer did not respond to requests for comment.