Brunswick seeks developer to reimagine historic Hawthorne School site

Brunswick is looking for a developer to take on one of its most visible downtown-adjacent properties, and the town wants more than a buyer for an old schoolhouse. Through a request for proposals posted May 21, officials are seeking a plan that can adapt the Hawthorne School at 46 Federal Street for housing, commercial use, or both, while working within the limits of a historic district and a tight site.

The property sits inside the Federal Street Historic District and carries preservation obligations that will shape any redevelopment. Town materials describe the building as constructed in 1916, and a town photo caption notes that it served as Brunswick’s high school until 1937, then became Hawthorne School until it closed in June 2009. The former school’s next chapter now hinges on whether Brunswick can pair reuse with a plan that adds activity, tax value, and more people moving through the Federal Street corridor.

The town is looking at two parcels: a 0.62-acre front lot at 46 Federal Street and a 0.23-acre rear lot at 0 Green Street. The front parcel is in the GR7 zone, where town materials say density is limited to five dwelling units per acre, while the rear parcel is zoned GM6. The RFP says the site is in the Growth Mixed-Use 6 district and can support residential and commercial development, signaling that Brunswick wants proposals with enough scale and flexibility to make the property an active part of downtown’s future.

The redevelopment process has been underway for months. On June 16, 2025, the Brunswick Town Council accepted transfer of the property from the Brunswick School Department, which had moved its central office from Hawthorne School to the former Coffin School at 20 Barrows Street. The council also authorized formation of the Hawthorne School Redevelopment Task Force, which began meeting monthly in September 2025 and held a neighborhood meeting on February 19, 2026, to discuss reuse ideas.

That task force now sits at the center of the decision-making. Town records say it will conduct community outreach, provide input on the RFP, and evaluate developer proposals before making a recommendation to the Town Council. The council would then negotiate a Purchase, Sale and Development Agreement with the selected developer. Bids are due July 2, 2026, at 3:01 p.m., and the town lists Chrissy Adamowicz as the contact for the process. For Brunswick, the choice is no longer whether Hawthorne School should change, but what kind of change the town is willing to shape.