Phillips Academy's crew team will be practicing in Methuen, not Andover, within the next few years.
Phillips Academy has entered into an agreement to purchase 5.8 acres of property along the banks of the Merrimack River in Methuen. The site at 620 Lowell St., Metuen, currently serves as the General GMC truck dealership.
Phillips Academy plans to refurbish the site for use by its varsity and instructional crew programs. "The development plan will largely be one of restoring the landscape - it is currently a large parking lot - and sprucing up the building to serve as a boathouse," said Michael Williams, the academy's director of facilities, in a release.
Other work includes the construction of a boat launching ramp and docks. Given the time needed to acquire the necessary permits, he said, it likely will be about two years before any site work could begin, and another six to nine months before the project is completed.
The private school said it pans to explore all possible partnerships with the local community. This is Phillips first purchase in Methuen.
PA's crew program will continue to operate from its current site in Andover, behind the Greater Lawrence Technical School on River Road, until the site in Methuen is ready for occupancy. Officials from Phillips Academy, the town of Andover and the Greater Lawrence Technical School have worked cooperatively over the last 19 years to find a mutually beneficial solution to the challenges posed by the current riverfront site. As a result of the joint effort, it has become clear that issues such as cumbersome vehicle and pedestrian access and a substandard building cannot be resolved without a significant financial commitment from the Academy, according to a release.
Given the investment required to resolve the access issues indentified, the Academy's Board of Trustees asked the administration to seek an alternative site for its crew program, one that would be much less expensive to develop.
"Phillips Academy recognizes the significant energy and time dedicated to this initiative and intends to honor the spirit of what was to be a tri-party agreement among PA, the town of Andover and the Greater Lawrence Technical School. The Academy remains committed to ensuring reasonable access to the river for the residents of Andover and will grant the necessary easements for this access prior to any future sale of its property," the school said in a release.
