ORANGE, MA, Nov. 3, 2026 — Recognizing that Butterfield School occupies a special place in the heart of the community, the Orange Economic Development and Industrial Corporation (OEDIC) has scheduled a public meeting where townspeople can provide input on the reuse of the historic South Main Street property.
The community engagement session is set for Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Orange town hall auditorium. Interested citizens are encouraged to attend to learn more about OEDIC’s efforts to redevelop the former school and to share their thoughts and ideas.
“There’s strong interest and a genuine sentimental feeling in town about Butterfield School. Our intent is to give the community the opportunity to weigh in and be part of the redevelopment process,” said Thomas Sexton, chair of the seven-member OEDIC Board of Directors. “The input from this public event and from an online survey that has been launched will help us formulate our upcoming RFP. OEDIC’s goal is to shape the future of the property in a way that fulfills our vision for the Butterfield property and best serves the community.”
OEDIC is partnering on the Butterfield community engagement with Resilience Planning and Design, a collaborative planning firm that managed a similar effort in conjunction with the Grow Orange 2035 long-range comprehensive plan.
The Nov. 17 agenda includes an OEDIC presentation summarizing the redevelopment vision and progress, a primer on affordable housing delivered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, and small group table discussions. Attendees will be invited to reflect on the presentations, identify remaining questions, and suggest uses or design features to strengthen the project.
To help maximize community input, an online survey has been posted to the OEDIC website. It can be found at https://developingorange.com/butterfield-school-project/
OEDIC assumed ownership of the Butterfield site after voters at the Orange annual town meeting in June 2025 authorized the Select Board to convey the property “for the purpose of facilitating beneficial reuse and redevelopment.” The property includes four contiguous parcels and features the closed 2½-story, 37,500 square-foot school built in 1878.
Based on the work OEDIC has done thus far, the Butterfield reuse will need to include housing, due to the availability of funding for that purpose and the opportunity to address an identified community need. Other complementary community uses could also be built into the upcoming Request for Proposals (RFP), including a senior center for town residents and access to a refurbished auditorium and/or gymnasium.
In October, OEDIC received a major boost to its efforts to redevelop the former Butterfield School, with the award of $200,000 in grant funding through the state’s Community One Stop for Growth initiative.
Contact:
Thomas Sexton
tsexton@developingorange.com
617-413-1490
