Proposal Seeks Two-Year Lease to Convert Hawthorne Elementary into Community Center

Helena Public Schools received a single proposal that would convert the decommissioned Hawthorne Elementary into a temporary neighborhood community center, setting the stage for a two-year lease that could activate the Madison Avenue property and provide arts, performance and community-use space.

Superintendent Rex Weltz told the school board the district’s request-for-proposals period yielded only one viable submission that might lead to a long-term lease. The proposal, filed for the site commonly known as Hawthorne, envisions a multi-purpose facility called the Hawthorne Community Center Helena with arts and performance space, office space and rooms for dance, classes and other community activities. The submission frames the project roughly in the mold of Bozeman’s Emerson Center for Arts and Culture, though the district has not released the proposal text while it undergoes legal review.

The Hawthorne building was closed last June after the district cited shrinking enrollment and an estimated $4.6 million in deferred maintenance. Officials said the same solicitation produced no viable proposals for another surplus property, the May Butler building. With those closures, the district is weighing how to balance maintenance liabilities, potential lease revenue and neighborhood expectations for reuse.

District staff will not release details of the proposal until lawyers complete their review. After that review, the board’s facilities staff will evaluate the submission and make a recommendation to trustees. The timeline for those steps has not been made public, and the board may face decisions about lease terms, maintenance responsibilities and community access before any agreement is finalized.

For residents of the Madison Avenue neighborhood and Helena more broadly, the proposal carries several practical implications. A short two-year lease could bring programming and foot traffic that keeps the building from sitting idle and further deteriorating, offering performing arts groups, instructors and community organizations interim space. At the same time, the temporary nature of the plan may limit capital investments and pose questions about who will cover upkeep, insurance and operational costs if events increase wear on an already deferred-maintenance property.

Institutionally, the lone proposal highlights the limited market for repurposing district-owned school buildings and the district’s cautious approach to legal and facilities vetting. The board will need to weigh community desires for local arts and recreation against long-term facility planning and the district’s responsibility to manage its asset backlog.

What this means for Helena residents is straightforward: the closed Hawthorne building could become a neighborhood asset in the short term, but final approval depends on legal review and a facilities recommendation to the school board. Watch for the proposal to be released after legal clearance and for the board’s recommendation, which will determine whether programming can begin on Madison Avenue.