Condos for North Main, interviews for Brockton superintendent top civic agenda

BROCKTON — Who should lead Brockton Public Schools? You can watch school politicians interview the two finalists for interim superintendent on Tuesday. The school board may vote on which one to hire the same night.

That's perhaps the highest-profile item in Brockton's public meetings for the week of July 8. Other meetings where votes will be taken that could affect your pocketbook, rights or daily life include votes on two downtown building projects: 50 condos for North Main and an update to an apartment building next to the new Marvelous Marvin Hagler statue.

Brockton Public Schools are hiring an interim superintendent to guide the district amid an overspending crisis. The schools have narrowed 13 applicants down to two: Janell D. Pearson-Campbell and Priya Tahiliani. You can read more detail about them in this previous Enterprise report.

Pearson-Campbell previously served as interim superintendent for Northampton Public Schools. Tahiliani was superintendent at the Everett Public Schools for four years.

The two will be interviewed during the school committee meeting that begins at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9. If you can't make it to the high school to watch in person, Brockton Community Access has you covered.

Condos for empty industrial site?

Developers are keen to turn industrial and auto service uses in and near downtown into housing. That's the plan for 159 N. Main St. Developer Robert Belcher of Milton has won Planning Board approval to demolish a long vacant parcel at the corner of North Main and Charles streets, turning it into 50 condos. Belcher is scheduled to ask the Zoning Board of Appeals for an additional year to gather other permits.

In a nutshell, the project would result in a 4-story building with 102 parking spaces. There'd be parking in the basement as well as inside and outside the first floor walls. The condos would be a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom units. The property is a half-mile walk to Brockton Commuter Rail Station. The proposal is for ownership units at a time when many recent downtown housing proposals have been apartments.

Lop a floor off proposed RingSide apartments?

Local developer Joseph Goncalves returns to the ZBA on Tuesday with some changes to the apartment building he's planning next to the new Marvelous Marvin Hagler statue.

The original plan for RingSide Residences was for a 5-story building with 50 market-rate apartments. Goncalves is expected to pare back that proposal, removing a story to decrease density and result in a 4-story building with 46 apartments.

In addition to those two large developments, the proponents of several smaller projects are asking for approvals. They include:

• Turn a single-family home into a two-family at 15 Brook St.
• Tear down and rebuild a home at 10 Exeter St.
• Build single-family homes on Lot B at 446 Forest Ave. and 145 Hovenden Ave.

The ZBA takes up all the above issues on Tuesday, July 9 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Library Board seeks to overturn vote

Brockton's public library system, which absorbed one of the larger cuts of the city's most recent budget cycle, holds its monthly board of trustees meeting, also on Tuesday, July 9. The agenda includes a scheduled vote to "overturn votes" taken at the board's June 11 conclave.

Know of a Brockton issue that's flying under the radar? Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X at @HelmsNews.