Project Plan Overview: Shriners Site

Project Overview
This Project involves the purchase by Greenfield Development, LLC of the Melha Shriners Temple at 133
Longhill Street and two adjacent sites (22 Warner Street and 26 Warner Street) and the construction of a
new 3-story building on the overall site. The site is being developed by Greenfield Development, LLC
whose principal is Joe Marois of Marois Construction. The site will be leased to Springfield Prep Charter
School, a public charter elementary school, and to the Shriners, who would continue to use the main
building as administrative office space. This Project intends to adapt a site that has long been a fixture
of the Forest Park neighborhood and continue its use as a central community space.

Key Project Details:

 New construction of a 3-story, 38,000 square foot building on the site
 Purchase of two adjacent sites (22 Warner and 26 Warner) to accommodate parking and traffic
circulation
 Re-use of current historic building as a school library and office space without exterior changes;
re-use of current Event Space as a gymnasium/auditorium
 Demolition of current houses at 22 Warner Street and 26 Warner Street to provide improved
driveway access to the site and visibility
 Improved landscaping will add greenery to the site, especially to the front parking lot
 Greenery along Longhill Street will be preserved and serve as a natural buffer

Project Planning Considerations

The Project Developer has kept two key considerations in mind during the planning stages: (1) retaining
the historic look and feel of the neighborhood and (2) ensuring that there is ample space on the site to
accommodate traffic circulation.

(1) Historic Considerations

To preserve the historic look and feel of the neighborhood, the proposed plan focuses on a number of
key design elements:
 Preserve all existing structures – The historic house and carriage house will remain unchanged.
 New construction mirrors the historic characteristics of the neighborhood – The proposed new
construction has been designed to mirrors architectural details in the neighborhood, including
red brick and stucco, as well as design elements from other neighborhood schools.
 Preserve view of historic front of building from Longhill Street - The original design sited the
building in the rear (northwest) corner of the site. The Historical Commission provided feedback
on this original concept and suggested moving the building to preserve the view of the historic
building from Longhill Street.
 Add views of the historic carriage house – The elimination of the structures at 22 Warner Street
and 26 Warner Street will open up the space and provide views of the historic carriage house,
which are currently blocked.
View of new building from Longhill Street
 (2) Traffic Circulation
To ensure that the site would accommodate its new use, the Developer engaged Vanasse, Hangen,
Brustlin to perform a Traffic Impact Assessment of the site. The study’s conclusions were very positive,
concluding that the surrounding roadway can adequately accommodate the traffic increases
anticipated by the new use of the site. The study highlights key reasons for this:
 Staggered school hours – Springfield
Prep’s hours do not overlap with those
of the Sumner Avenue School.
Springfield Prep begins earlier and
ends later.
 Active traffic management plan – The
School has between 6-8 staff members
on duty and outside at arrival and
dismissal to ensure safe and efficient
operations for buses and cars.
 Two-lane circulation – The Site Plan
accommodates two lanes of traffic in
and out of the site, one for buses and
one for cars. The long circular
driveway can accommodate 10 buses
and 21 cars simultaneously, which will
prevent queuing on the street.
 Required one-way traffic pattern – To
ensure safe and efficient traffic flow,
traffic will be encouraged to enter the
site from the east (Fort Pleasant
Avenue) and all vehicles will be required to exit to the west (towards Longhill Street).
 Ample parking spaces – The proposed site plan has 90 spaces, approximately 60 to
accommodate staff and 30 to accommodate visitors.

Neighborhood Investment
Just as the Shriners have been a positive presence in the neighborhood for many years, the Developer
will promote use of the site for neighborhood purposes. The Developer intends to offer the space for use
by neighborhood organizations when possible and the Shriners intend to continue using the site for
events during non-school hours.

Project Developer and Tenants

 Project Developer – Joe Marois, of Greenfield Development, LLC and Marois Construction
Company is the Project Developer.
 Primary Tenant – Springfield Prep Charter School, a public charter school with 216 students in
grades K-3, growing to 486 students in grades K-8.
 Additional Tenant – Melha Shriners, a philanthropic fraternal club that currently uses the site and
runs a number of leadership, education, community engagement programs.

For More Information

Project Developer Tenant Information Tenant Information
Joe Marois Bill Spirer, Head of School Dan Smith
Greenfield, LLC and Marois Springfield Prep Charter School Melha Shriners
Construction 413-234-3174 413-534-8171
413-533-1320 bspirer@springfieldprep.org dsmith@pvcretre.com
joem@maroiscc.com