North Reading Select Board Forms Committee to Study 3 Washington Street Senior Center Purchase

NORTH READING — July 6, 2026 — North Reading Select Board advances 3 Washington Street as potential senior center site. The board voted unanimously Monday to establish a site evaluation committee to assess an 11,000-square-foot former commercial building at 3 Washington Street — offered to the town with a right of first refusal — as a possible location for a senior or intergenerational community center, with a target of bringing a warrant article to October 2026 town meeting. Chair Richard F. Wallner said the building has "good bones" and could save roughly 40 percent in construction costs compared to new development, while Member Stephen J. O'Leary, appointed to lead the committee, called it "a terrific opportunity" compared to the current senior center's 2,400 square feet. The board also reserved $210,972.24 in state winter storm recovery funds, took separate votes on more than a dozen town-owned land parcels — retaining two affordable housing overlay district parcels and referring 9 Patley Road to the Community Planning Commission for affordable housing consideration — and opened a discussion on whether to seek a waiver from the Cannabis Control Commission to prohibit cannabis delivery under a new state law.