College eyes site downtown

The former St. Luke's Hospital , which has been a blight on downtown for the last several years, may open next winter as the first educational center Middleborough has ever hosted.

Representatives from Massasoit Community College met with local officials, business owners, and residents last Monday to get their reaction to a proposed satellite campus in the old hospital building. The officials said it would fill an educational need in Southeastern Massachusetts for residents looking to work on undergraduate or associate's degrees, and for professionals seeking further management or technical training. And it would achieve the community college's goal to expand.

Other institutions of higher learning could use the space as well. The University of Massachusetts at Darmouth may offer a master's degree program in business administration there in the evening. Nichols College may offer some business courses, and Cambridge College some education and psychology courses. Massasoit administrators said they also plan to approach Bridgewater State College .

"Massasoit Community College provides opportunities to a growing region. We've been in that business since 1966," said college president Charles Wall . "For us to provide comprehensive programs to students, we need to grow."

Massasoit has two main campuses, in Brockton and Canton , and has an enrollment of about 10,000 students. The college has been researching satellite locations in Plymouth , Weymouth , and Taunton , and eventually might open more than one. Middleborough was added to the list of possible sites only about a year ago, when John Healey, the town manager, approached college officials with the idea to check out St. Luke's.

"I was thinking of alternative uses for the building, and this one seemed like a winner," Healey said. Local business owners were excited about the plan from the beginning, he said.

Kingston developer Mary O'Donnell bought the property in 2002 , and initially had plans to convert it to a 61-unit affordable-housing complex. She abandoned the idea when the local Zoning Board of Appeals gave her a permit for only 46 units. The building has stood vacant while alternative uses were explored, and it became a chronic target of vandals.

Massasoit's plan calls for putting in eight classrooms , a computer room, 10 offices, two seminar/conference rooms, a reception area, copy room, and student lounge in about 18,000 square feet leased from O'Donnell . Nichols, Cambridge College, and UMass-Dartmouth would use the same space. Wall said coordinating use would not be a difficult task.

Accessibility played a major role in consideration of the Middleborough site, according to James Samels , president of the Education Alliance , an organization helping Massasoit select satellite locations. Samels said the town is accessible from Interstate 495 and Routes 105, 79, and 44. It has a commuter rail station just over the town line in Lakeville, and expects to have bus service to the downtown area soon.

The plan to open a satellite campus in Middleborough must still be approved by the Massasoit board of trustees . The board is expected to vote on the proposal in mid-December.

Several state agencies must also give the go-ahead, and some local permitting will be required. If all goes well, the campus could be ready to open in late 2007 , Samels said.

"Personally, I think this is the best thing going," said Judy Bigelow-Costa , president of Middleborough on the Move , a local business association. "It will cut the amount of commuting students need to do."

O'Donnell herself has been in favor of the plan from the start.

"It makes such wonderful sense for the community and for everyone," she said. "I think it will do a lot for the town." She added that with so many colleges using the same location, "there will be something for everyone." She plans to lease the remaining space in the 50,000-square-foot building to businesses that complement the educational use. She mentioned a coffee shop, health spa, and even pre-school, since early-education courses are expected to be offered there.

Bill Marzelli, who owns several residential rental properties in the town center, agrees that attracting the educational institutions to Middleborough would prove a boon to the town.

"I'm looking for a boost not so much from the students themselves, but from the people who work at Massasoit," he said, adding he believes the availability of educational opportunities and professional training might draw young professionals back to town.

"I can't think of any drawback to this," Marzelli said.

Christine Wallgren can be reached at clwallgren@aol.com.