Last modified: Wednesday, June 7, 2000 1:00 AM EDT Updates on Attleboro municipal projects Following are status reports from The Sun Chronicle on: Academy Building preservation, Attleboro High School clinic, Attleboro High School reconstruction, Bungay River conservation project, Bungay River sewer project, Coelho Middle School reconstructon, County Street sewer project, Larson Senior Center, Locust Valley land sale, Oakhill Avenue ball fields and the Pascale Block property. ACADEMY BUILDING PRESERVATION: The Attleboro Historic Preservation Society has been selected to take over the 158-year-old East Attleborough Academy building on Academy Avenue. The society will seek grants to renovate the Greek revival building for display of artifacts and for offices and meeting rooms. Work could begin this summer. (Feb. 22, 2000) ATTLEBORO HIGH SCHOOL CLINIC: A health clinic that is a satellite of Sturdy Memorial Hospital is slated to open at AHS in September. It will be staffed by a nurse practitioner. Parental permission is required for students to use most of the clinic's services. The clinic will be located near the present nurse's station and will require some $44,000 in renovations. (March 5, 2000) ATTLEBORO HIGH SCHOOL RECONSTRUCTION: A feasibility study is planned but the project is seven to 10 years away. (March 7, 2000) BUNGAY RIVER CONSERVATION PROJECT: The city council has voted to borrow $570,000 to buy 107 acres of land around the Bungay for a nature walk near the downtown. The state will reimburse the city for $245,000 of the cost. (Feb. 23, 2000) BUNGAY RIVER SEWER PROJECT: Some 18,000 feet of sewer line will be installed on the East Side in the Bungay River wetland area. Most of the work is on open land and traffic will be minimally affected. Work will be completed in November. (March 2, 2000) COELHO MIDDLE SCHOOL RECONSTRUCTION: The expansion and renovation project will begin in July 2001 or possibly July 2002 and take two years to complete. Capacity will be increased from 500 to 800 students and space from 90,000 to 130,000 square feet. There will be six clusters of classrooms, each with its own common area and science room. The library will be moved to what is now a courtyard and the cafeteria will become a multi-purpose circular room. Athletic facilities will include two football fields, two soccer fields, two little league fields, a standard-size baseball field, two basketball courts and a tennis court. The ball fields will be lighted and irrigated. The state will subsidize 74 percent of the $19 million cost. During construction, pupils will be transferred to the old Brennan Middle School. (June 1, 2000) COUNTY STREET SEWER PROJECT: The County Square area is undergoing a $2.2 million sewer and water system upgrade. New pipes from Birch Street to past Edgecliff Avenue are being installed, resulting in some detours. Work by A.V. Construction Co. Inc. will continue into late June. (May 26, 2000) INDUSTRIAL PARK: The city is waiting for the state to release a $1 million grant to design a second access road to the Ides Hill industrial park from South Avenue, opposite Lathrop Drive. The Attleboro Redevelopment Authority is in charge of the $10.7 million project, which has been proposed for 182 acres bounded by Interstate 95, Route 123, County Street and Tiffany Street. (May 12, 2000) LARSON SENIOR CENTER RENOVATIONS: Barbado Construction Inc. of Easton will begin work in mid-May and complete the project by Thanksgiving, with the total cost estimated at $620,000. Work will include office space on the second floor, a consultation area, computer room, activity area and common space. When done, more than $2 million will have been spent to convert the former fire station to a drop-in center, a project that dates to 1991. (April 13, 2000) LOCUST VALLEY LAND SALE FOR GOLF COURSE: The state attorney general has ruled the city's plans to sell 43 acres for expansion of Locust Valley Golf Course to 18 holes will require a home rule petition and a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. Preservationists were supported in their view that the sale cannot be approved by the city alone because of a deed restriction that limits use of this city land to recreation and conservation purposes. The city wants to sell the land for $320,000, but the opponents have filed a suit to block the sale. (March 19, 2000) OAKHILL AVENUE BALL FIELDS: Mayor Robbins says she will limit the project to $2 million at the city's 28-acre site behind 435 Oakhill Ave. Facilities will include four youth baseball fields, two soccer fields, a skateboard rink, tot lot, concession stand, parking lot and memorial to two city employees, Larry Poncin and Bernie Hewitt, who were killed on the job two years ago. Construction could begin in spring 2001 if funds are approved by the city council this fall, with the fields ready for use in the fall of 2002 or spring of 2003. (June 2, 2000) PASCALE BLOCK PROPERTY: John E. Case III, vice president of J.E. Case Inc. of North Attleboro, has offered the city $650,000 for the 19.5-acre property at County and Rice streets on the Pawtucket line. He plans a $5 million industrial park, including his company headquarters, which would be developed over 10 years. The mayor has recommended the sale and the city council is expected to approve it. Plans for a trash-transfer station on the site were abandoned after neighborhood protests last year. No opposition has arisen to Case's proposal. (June 7, 2000)