Lowell Charter School Seeks Gym Behind Historic Mill, Smokestack Future Uncertain

LOWELL — November 10, 2025 — Lowell Historical Commission hears charter school's $20 million gym plan and smokestack safety warning. Lowell Community Charter Public School Executive Director Nick Leonardos and COO Robert Gignac told the board Monday that the school intends to build a full-size athletic and community center behind the historic Appleton Mills complex on Middlesex Street, using a pre-engineered metal building designed by HMFH Architects principal Pip Lewis. Structural engineer Mike Hughes of Simpson Gumpertz and Heger presented findings that a 133-foot unreinforced masonry smokestack on the same parcel carries a 7.7 to 9.6 percent probability of seismic failure in the next 10 years — far above the Massachusetts building code's design threshold — with repair costs estimated at roughly $455,000 and ongoing maintenance costs of approximately $250,000. Board members pushed back on the demolition path, with one member stating that "active destruction of a historic structure is a tough sell for us," while also asking whether a peer engineering review could be arranged before any formal decision. The session was informational only; no votes were taken on the construction or smokestack applications.