
The future home of the Shrewsbury Recreation Department. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
SHREWSBURY – The Shrewsbury Recreation Department will soon permanently move from Town Hall to the American Legion Post located at the corner of Main Street and School Street near Dean Park. The move is part of a plan that will both fund significant renovations to the building and enhance recreation programming, town leaders say.
The building — home to Ray Stone Post 238 and Victor R. Quaranta Post 397 — was built in the early 1900s as a schoolhouse before becoming a meeting-place for veterans in the wake of World War I. Though Boy Scouts and veterans still use the site, the building has been underutilized for decades. The building’s bar hasn’t been open for about 50 years.
“It’s been kind of an underutilized building for many years. The Boy Scouts use it, and the veterans use it and have small meetings there, but it’s certainly nothing like it was 40 or 50 years ago. It’s certainly underutilized,” Assistant Town Manager Keith Baldinger told the Community Advocate.
Plans call for a slew of interior renovations to the 2,000-square-foot building, which visitors say looks deceptively small from the outside. An entryway and lobby area will be constructed, as well as an area for the Recreation Department to meet face-to-face with the public. There will be office space for Recreation Department personnel, a kitchenette for events and special gatherings, and the “great room” — which is the largest space in the area — will be used for future recreation programs.
It’s an improvement over the Recreation Department’s current situation. Since being moved to the Town Hall’s second floor in 2019, the department has lacked an easy way to interact with the public.
“We don’t have a forward-facing, interactive opportunity at this point for public registration, questions, and things of that nature. We’re really excited for that opportunity,” said Director of Recreation Laurel Rossiter. “Right now, recreation doesn’t have a daytime program space, so this will be a game-changer for us in that way. We’d be able to do some things while the schools are used up; they’re our recreation facility structure at this point. This is really exciting – it’s our new ‘home base’ for programs and more.”
The new space and proximity to existing facilities at Dean Park make the American Legion post a “dream location,” said Rossiter.
The renovations will be funded by $625,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, meaning that there’s no impact on the operational budget. The design is funded, the project will be advertised this week, and construction is expected to start in December. If all goes according to plan, the Recreation Department will have the space ready by spring.
While the town hopes the building will get more use, Baldinger and Rossiter were very clear – Boy Scouts and veterans are more than welcome to enjoy the space. Those groups were consulted throughout the planning process, they said, and everyone looks forward to the renovations.
“That was an important part of the process, meeting with them before we got the ball rolling. We want them to feel like they’re still welcome. The intention is to never, ever kick them out. It’s their home and it’s their meeting space. It’s meant to be collaborative, and we’re going to work together,” said Rossiter.