By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
Within the beautiful town of Medfield lies an area with an immense amount of history attached to it: the historic Medfield State Hospital. Created back in the 1890s, this then insane asylum grew in size over the years, ultimately ending with over 600 acres of land and over 35 individual buildings on the premises.
Finally closing its doors back in 2003, the property has been left untouched for years up until very recently. According to the “Redevelopment of the Former Medfield State Hospital” Proposal Request, “The Town acquired the Disposition Property from DCAMM in 2014 and subsequently commissioned a Strategic Reuse Master Plan (‘Master Plan’) that was released in 2018. The Town then re-zoned the Disposition Property in 2019 in anticipation of soliciting interested and qualified developers to physically and financially reposition the site. These efforts demonstrate the Town’s commitment to facilitate the redevelopment effort by laying the groundwork in advance of the municipal entitlement process to be undertaken by the selected developer.”
One institution that became very interested in using the site was the Bellforge Arts Center (BAC). About a year after rezoning took place on the property, the BAC secured a ninety nine year lease with the town on two of the signature buildings that are placed within the core of the grounds. With this, many events have taken place at the old Medfield State Hospital, but there is more in store for this historic place.
The BAC website discusses future renovation plans, stating, “Bellforge’s bold vision for the arts recasts the core buildings and grounds of the former Medfield State Hospital into a vibrant public place pulsing with intergenerational activity and creative energy. The project renovates the historic Lee Chapel and Infirmary, connecting the two buildings surrounding the green space for outdoor performances and community events. It is rare to find a place in our state with this magnificent mix of features poised to deliver so many transformational benefits.”
All together, there will be three distinct spaces that the BAC will create: the Performance Venue, the Education Facilities, and the Open Space. The Performance Venue will be a 300-seat venue that will host events like theater, dance, music, lectures, community/business meetings, weddings, art exhibits, catering kitchen, and more. The Educational Facilities will hold seventeen classrooms on three floors, nine studios for private lessons, band spaces, studios for art classes, larger rooms for rehearsal and dance space, daytime use for adults/seniors, after school youth programs, summer creative arts camps, etc. Finally, the Open Space will include tented stage performances, art festivals, farmers markets, craft fairs, lawn concerts, theater under the stars, outdoor movies, community programming and events, etc.
Executive Director of the BAC, Jean Mineo, expressed her excitement about the upcoming changes that will be made to these grounds. “I have been working on this since 2014 when the town was able to buy the property. Through the whole master planning process, there was always a desire to maintain public access and to be able to save that chapel. It just makes a lot of sense to do the historic preservation for a performing arts center. Having the second building was very important to me to be able to combine the education and classroom spaces with a performance venue and be able to support performing artists from where they are starting out to where they are performing for a live audience. … We are all just really excited for this all to go through and create a great space for the community of Medfield,” Mineo stated.
The hope is to start construction by the end of 2024 once they raise the required amount of funds to do so. Mineo believes they can achieve their funding goal within the next year or so. Right now, the BAC has 42% pledged for the construction funding and would need about 75% to begin the process. If construction does start in 2024, they are optimistic to reopen the doors by the beginning of spring in 2026 so they do not lose that summer of events.
