Two Afghan refugee families will be allowed to continue living at Bromfield House until June 2024, after the Select Board voted unanimously to extend their lease. The lease had been set to expire Feb. 28, 2024.
Chair Rich Maiore explained during the board meeting this week that the extension will allow more time for the Neighborhood Support Team to find permanent housing for the families, preferably in the town of Harvard. This way, the kids can continue going to school in the area and the extension will allow students to complete the school year in Harvard before moving.
Changing the house from offices into a home was one of the biggest projects of the Neighborhood Support Team. Terry Symula, the head of the team, and the rest of the volunteers had planned for that building to be used as housing for one of the families, though it ended up housing two families. Since the families moved in, Symula and her team have dedicated their time to making renovations on the house, such as adding showers to the bathrooms, getting a new set of appliances for the kitchen, and painting all of the rooms.
Bromfield House was left to the schools by Margaret Bromfield Blanchard, whose will specified that it be used only for educational purposes, so allowing a temporary nonschool use took advocates for the refugee families some effort.
After months of negotiating with the Trustees of the Bromfield School, which controls Blanchard’s trust, and after presenting the project to the Select Board, the case was brought to a Worcester court, where it was immediately approved by the judge in June 2022.
“It was a long process, but it was so worth it,” said Symula. “These families have made a big difference to the town.”
Pam Marston, the vice chair of the Historical Commission, spoke during the meeting to support the extension of the lease for another year. However, she also acknowledged the importance of eventually putting the house up for sale.
“Hopefully at this time, you would see your way clear to putting the house on the market and selling it,” said Marston.
“I’m grateful and proud of the town for all they’ve done for these families,” said Symula.
