THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, October 8, 2021 Page 3 Mystic Valley Regional Charter School A History of Partnering with the City of Malden Maplewood School and Fire Station u In 2003, the City of Malden had a large budget shortfall entering Fiscal Year 2004 and was faced with potentially laying off approximately 40 employees. The Mayor of Malden called Mystic Valley Regional Charter School’s Board of Trustees and asked if the school would be willing to purchase the Maplewood School, expressing the need to fill a shortfall of over $2 million. u Mystic Valley negotiated with the city and agreed to pay $2.4 million, which was significantly more than the appraised value and the value of recent comparable properties sold by the city. In exchange for paying more than the appraised value and allowing the Malden Fire Department to remain in the building under a two year lease at no cost, which required the city to maintain the interior space used by the fire station, Mystic Valley received a long term agreement to use field space at South Broadway Park for an hour and a half each day. The city also agreed to permit girls softball at other fields. u The Malden City Council voted 11-0 to approve the acquisition, in large part to save employee jobs. To put the acquisition of the buildings into perspective, the citizens of Malden should understand: u In the previous three years, the City of Malden sold both the former Belmont and Glenwood Schools to developers, which were no longer functioning as schools when the city’s five new K-8 schools opened (much like the case with the former Maplewood School). Those schools were sold for less than $500,000 each. u In the previous five years, the city had also sold two fire stations, the Mountain Ave. Station and the Ashland Street Station. Both were sold for less than $300,000 each. u Combined, all four comparable buildings were sold for less than $1.6 million dollars, compared to the $2.4 million the city received from MVRCS for one school building and one fire station. u The city renewed the fire station lease in 2005 and 2008, but chose not to renew in the spring of 2011. In the six years prior to 2011, the lease cost never exceeded $3 per square foot. In fact, Mystic Valley offered to sell the fire station back to the city for $800,000, its approximate purchase price in 2003. The city never responded. u Mystic Valley renovated the fire station after 2011 to its historic look, based on a picture from 1903. In 2015, the Malden Historical Commission gave MVRCS a Preservation Award for the renovation. Present-day view of 4 Laurel Street, formerly fire station. Photograph of fire station circa 1903. Present-day view of 30 Laurel Street, formerly Maplewood School. We look forward to a time when we can continue to collaborate with the City of Malden in a mutually-beneficial manner
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