Lowell – Lowell Community Charter Public School (LCCPS), a high-expectations charter public school serving 815 students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the heart of downtown Lowell for the last 25 years, announced Wednesday it is receiving a generous donation of real estate from longstanding neighbors and partners, the Lichoulas family.
This gift allows financial and spatial flexibility that will empower the school to continue providing excellent education and support to the families of the Greater Lowell community.
The Lichoulas family will donate Mill No. 5, including all of the abutting land surrounding the building. The donation is a transformative milestone for the students and families of LCCPS and for the ‘Build to Learn’ campaign. As part of the campaign, LCCPS plans a new Athletic & Community Center, a Student Success Fund to foster programmatic growth, and a state-of-the-art Performance Arts Center.
“We are deeply grateful to the Lichoulas family for their extraordinary generosity,” said Executive Director, Nicholas Leonardos. “This once-in-a-lifetime donation will allow us to provide enhanced resources and expanded extracurricular opportunities for our students for years to come. This investment in our facilities—a place that so many of our students and faculty consider a second home—will have a lasting impact.”
“It is an honor to support the incredible work being done at this school,” said James Lichoulas Jr.. “We believe deeply in the power of education, and we are thrilled to contribute in a way that will help ensure the school’s continued success and growth for years to come.”
The school’s current plan to build a new gymnasium across the street on Middlesex Street, announced in September, will be put on hold in light of this donation. School leaders will now pivot to build the highly anticipated new gym and community center on the grounds of Mill No. 5. By incorporating the space and land at Mill No. 5 into their broader plan; the building project will align the school’s resources with the long-term needs of students, staff, and families.
“On behalf of LCCPS and our entire community, I extend our deepest gratitude to the Lichoulas family for their extraordinary generosity and vision. This remarkable gift not only provides a transformative opportunity for our school but also preserves the unique vision of a creative indoor streetscape in our historic mill building. We are thrilled to reimagine these spaces as classrooms, where 815 students will learn, grow, and be inspired every day,” said Robert Gignac, Chief Operating Officer. “This gift strengthens our mission to serve the Lowell community and shapes the future of education in our city. It has been an honor to work alongside the Lichoulas family to bring this shared vision to life.”
The School recognizes the impact this donation and transition will have on current building tenants and is working closely with the Lichoulas family and city officials to make the transition as seamless as possible.
Gignac tells InsideLowell LCCPS “will work with the city to provide alternative spaces over the next few months. Our goal is the fully occupy Mill No. 5 eventually and sell our space we own and occupy in Mill 6.”
City officials acknowledge they have already begun working proactively to identify space and size requirements for all the affected businesses, with vacant space on Merrimack, Middle and Market Streets being a prime target. They plan to begin outreach efforts with each owner in the coming weeks.
