Planning Board approves school Welcome Center with coastal resilience
Salem Planning Board unanimously approves school Welcome Center with flood-resilient design. The board voted 9-0 to approve the approximately 3,017 square-foot two-story addition to Salem Public Schools at 30 Leavitt Street, featuring wet floodproofing and strategic flood ventilation as recommended
Planning Board · Meeting of January 8, 2026
Salem Planning Board unanimously approves school Welcome Center with flood-resilient design. The board voted 9-0 to approve the approximately 3,017 square-foot two-story addition to Salem Public Schools at 30 Leavitt Street, featuring wet floodproofing and strategic flood ventilation as recommended by Planner Robin Lee. The project includes two accessible parking spaces, new concrete ramping and staircases, with waterproofed restrooms at flood level designed to allow controlled water seepage.
Chair Kirt Rieder confirmed the design employs floodproof strategies. The board also unanimously continued three major development projects: the 301 Essex Street mixed-use proposal (eliminating parking, expanding units from 20 to 30) and the 15 Crosby Street two-lot subdivision to January 22; and the 45 Jefferson Avenue 100,000 square-foot self-storage facility (735 units) to February 5.
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of January 8, 2026, compiled from the official minutes.
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