Sarah D. Ottiwell Building In North End Will Be Demolished

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According to SouthcoastToday, New Bedford City Council has given the green to knock down the Ottiwell building to make way for a potential new school building to house the Alma Del Mar Charter School.

Opponents are not in favor of knocking down the historical school (which dates back to 1918).  The City Council was split 8 to 3 in favor of the demolition.

“We’re pleased to have the support and to move forward with this work,” said Will Gardner, executive director of Alma del Mar Charter School. “We’ve still got a big challenge ahead of us".

Alma Del Mar originally wanted to renovate the existing building, but discovered water flowing out of the walls, which later froze and created cracks in the building.  Add on exposed water pipes and a old boiler system, and renovations became costly.

Another benefit to a new building is that the student population can nearly double to 450 students.

There is hope that the 16 million dollar project can break ground by the end of the summer, and be ready for Fall of 2016.

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