A former elementary school in Westerly, Rhode Island, which later served as a community center until it shut down in 2020, is about to become a bustling hub of healthcare, job training and family support. The Tower Street Community Center will celebrate its opening on October 26 at 83 Tower St., the site of the former Tower Street Elementary School.
The roughly $7 million project includes a new 8,000-square-foot facility offering healthcare, education, recreation and community support services under one roof, according to the Westerly Sun. Executive Director Russell Partridge said the opening signifies community commitment and creates a place for services, education and support, intended as a resource for generations, per the same report. The town partnered with A/Z Corporation of North Stonington and Cherenzia Excavation of Pawcatuck to prepare the building for opening, the paper notes.
From Shuttered Classrooms to Shared Clinics
The original school building, a 45,000-square-foot structure built in 1955, closed in 2010 after district consolidation driven by declining enrollment, according to the State of Rhode Island Ethics Commission. It continued to be used as a community center until it shut down in 2020 and remained vacant thereafter, according to the Ethics Commission. The town demolished it in 2025, per the Westerly Sun's reporting. Project planning began with public workshops in 2023, the paper notes, and a 2023 reuse study identified Westerly's top six community needs as a dedicated community center, affordable housing, workforce development, accessible healthcare and mental health services, youth programs, and assistance for low-income and single-parent families, according to records filed with the Town of Westerly Town Council.
Federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund awards provided $3,819,120 toward the center's total construction and development cost of $7,031,199, covering approximately 54% of the project, according to the State of Rhode Island Pandemic Recovery Office. The project is also partially funded through federal ARPA Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund support and receives money from HUD, local foundations, financial institutions and community partners including the Westerly Community Credit Union, the Westerly Sun reports.
Philanthropy and Private Dollars Filled the Gaps
Philanthropist Charles “Chuck” Royce and the Royce Family Fund were instrumental in building the Westerly Education Center and were working on the Tower Street Center, according to the University of Rhode Island. The town of Westerly and the Royce Family Fund negotiated a 65-year lease in 2024, the Westerly Sun reports. In August 2025, the Westerly Community Credit Union awarded a $100,000 grant to help finance campaign efforts and early program implementation at the center, as reported by Providence Business News. Credit union leadership also participated in a facility walk-through in July, and U.S. Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse toured the facility in June, per the Westerly Sun.
A Multi-Agency Model Built on Local Need
The single-story facility features two multipurpose rooms, three classrooms, three telemedicine rooms, and 21 other operational spaces divided among its anchor partners, per the Pandemic Recovery Office's account. Anchor partner Wood River Health operates as a Federally Qualified Health Center, offering primary care, dental and behavioral health services on a sliding-fee scale across Washington County and southeastern Connecticut, according to Wood River Health. That FQHC designation requires care regardless of a patient's ability to pay. Wood River Health has partnered with Westerly's WARM Center on Medicaid-funded housing stabilization and health coordination, linking two of the center's partners.
Partridge brings direct experience with that population: he previously directed the Westerly WARM Center, a local nonprofit that provides emergency shelter, meals and supportive housing, according to Philanthropy.org. The Tower Street Community Center announced his appointment as executive director in February, the Westerly Sun reports. The nonprofit entity created to manage the center lists core goals of expanding access to quality healthcare, providing educational opportunities, strengthening community connections, and creating sustainable partnerships and systems.
Services Aimed at an Aging, Underserved Town
The town of Westerly, Wood River Health and the Westerly Education Center form a partnership network to provide community services at the site, with the town itself offering out-of-school and after-school youth programming, educational camps and youth mentoring, according to the Westerly Sun. The Westerly Education Center will offer certified nursing assistant and certified medical assistant training, while Wood River Health Services will provide primary care, mental health care and dental care on-site, the paper reports. The center will also provide public access to free Wi-Fi and information on wraparound services.
That medical access carries particular weight locally: Westerly's population aged 65 and older accounts for 21.0% of the town's total residents, significantly higher than Rhode Island's statewide average of 16.1%, according to the Town of Westerly. Phase one construction work started on October 27, 2025, and the project's timetable anticipated a grand opening by the end of 2026 — a target the town is now set to meet with next week's ceremony, per the Westerly Sun's reporting. Organizers envision the center as a hub for recreation, workforce development and medical services, aiming to improve quality of life and build a stronger, more connected and resilient community.
