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Town to discuss Farley Building

By Staff | Apr 24, 2016

HOLLIS – After more than a decade sitting idle, Hollis officials plan to meet in early May to continue talks about the restoration plans for the iconic Farley Building.

Hollis Board of Selectmen Chairman Mark LeDoux said the town has been in conversations with the Hollis School Board about possible uses of the historic property, which has been closed since 2005, as a multi-use facility that would house the SAU 41 offices and offer space for high-tech classrooms to focus on advanced training in the STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – fields.

"We’ve involved the Hollis School District so they can have a say in the matter," LeDoux said. "There were some plans done for rehabilitation many years ago and those have been dusted off at town hall; we gave those to some construction folks, and they’re taking a look at it just to see what’s really required under the current zoning (codes)."

The school board is slated to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, at the Hollis Upper Elementary School to discuss uses for the building.

"Right now, it’s still presently owned by the town," said Andy Corey, superintendent of the SAU 41, which includes the Hollis and Brookline school districts.

"The big thing that we’re looking at, which will be part of our discussion, is to utilize it for students across the SAU in some way that would increase opportunities for our kids to do STEM. We have discussed a little bit about looking at (moving) the SAU offices because we were in discussions prior to the Farley Building about our present SAU," he added. "It’s still a little premature, but it is moving forward."

The building, finished in 1877 to serve as the town’s first civic building, was built in the Italianate style with a symmetrical facade and tall bell-tower. The property was named in honor of Mary Farley – she willed $10,000 to Hollis with the stipulation that the town build a high school within two years of her death.

It was named five years ago to the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s "Seven to Save" list, which recognizes properties considered vital to a community’s identity.

"Once the school’s on board with this, then we’ll start the process and take a hard look at repopulating the costs and see if this is something that we can do," Le Doux. "We’ll try to get some additional private donations and if need-be we’ll have to look at potentially generating a bond if the electorate wants to proceed with this."

Previously, town voters allocated $50,000 to stabilize and "mothball" the building and pursue grants for future restoration.

Retired businessman Richard Stahl became a white knight for building, offering $500,000 in December 2015 to restore the historic building.

"This is what Hollis is all about – tradition and character," he said during a December 2015 meeting. Stahl said he doesn’t care what the building is used for, as long as it is preserved and used for public purposes.

Chris Garofolo can be reached at 594-6465, cgarofolo@nashuatelegraph.com or @Telegraph_Chris.

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