From Mental Hospital to $30 Million Arts Hub: The Transformative Rebirth of 'Shutter Island'

An abandoned psychiatric hospital chapel and infirmary in Medfield is getting a $30 million second act — as a stage. A local nonprofit has raised the money to transform the historic site into a regional hub for music and education.

As plans to start construction begin this summer, the Bellforge Arts Center is wasting no time, hosting a variety of live music and festivals on the hospital grounds, including the Boston-based ’80s rock band The Del Fuegos this September.

Beginning this weekend, the nonprofit his hosting the free Bellforge Pride in the Field-Fest featuring an afternoon of live music from emerging local talent. Other upcoming events include Unspoken , a Juneteenth celebration on June 21, and the New England Americana Fest on June 28.

With almost weekly outdoor events this summer, Paul Armstrong, the director of programming for the Bellforge Arts Center, said the 2025 programming is the most ambitious yet in terms of the numbers and size of events.

“We’re not here to copy what’s being done,” said Armstrong. “We’re here to surprise, challenge expectations of a suburban art center and try to create something truly different for both the artists, the audiences, and the community.”

History of the project

The Medfield State Hospital opened in 1896 and was the first of its kind to utilize a cottage-style design, maximizing daylight, fresh air, exercise, and socialization for residents.

The commonwealth closed the hospital in 2003, boarding up the 27 buildings on the 128-acre site.

Since that time, the abandoned hospital was not only used by dog walkers but also served as an ideal movie set. People may recognize the hospital as the location for the filming of the 2010 Leonardo DiCaprio thriller “Shutter Island.”

In 2014, the town of Medfield purchased the property. Discussions over what to do with the land pre-dated the purchase, and concerns over what to do with a contaminated portion of the site remained.

After four years of gathering public input, the town completed a master plan in 2018. In 2020, the Bellforge Arts Center secured a 99-year lease with the town on two signature buildings at the core of the campus.

Through a state grant, the arts foundation was able to conduct remediation on the chapel, making it safe enough to host tours for the public.

“It gets them very excited about what’s coming,” said Jean Mineo, executive director of the Bellforge Arts Center.

The $30 million Bellforge Arts Center project involves renovating the Lee Chapel and Infirmary, connecting the two buildings with a new glass annex, and developing surrounding green space for outdoor performances and community events.

The performance venue will feature a 300-seat auditorium for music, theatre, and dance. It will be a flexible space that accommodates lectures, films, readings, community and business meetings, as well as weddings and other special events.

The venue will feature indoor art exhibits, a catering kitchen, and upstairs staff and office space.

Mineo says construction will start this summer and is estimated to take about 16 months.

Already in use is the outdoor tented stage for performances and community activities, including arts and crafts fairs, lawn concerts, and outdoor movies.

“We think about this arc of support from where students are starting out learning an instrument or voice, theater, to where performers are starting to launch their careers,” said Mineo.

Often, nonprofits focus on either performance or education, but not both, due to a lack of space, Mineo said. “We have a lot of space.”

Housing development

Special Town Meeting in June 2022 approved entering into a land agreement with Trinity Financial to redevelop the rest of the hospital’s structures into 334 rental units, 25% of which will be affordable. Developers purchased the 45-acre parcel north of Hospital Road for $2 million.

According to the project’s documents , the developers are reusing the 27 existing buildings (minus the two for the arts center) and converting them into apartments.

The timeline for that $300 million project is a moving target, being one of the most complex projects Trinity Financial has ever undertaken, said Abby Goldenfarb, senior vice president at Trinity Financial.

The aim is to start construction by the end of 2026.

Goldenfarb said it is a lot trickier to work on rehabilitating old buildings than it is to build from scratch. Many of the buildings have been boarded up for years, and some parts are no longer structurally sound.

“Our goal has always been to call this a rescue mission, to save these buildings,” said Goldenfarb. “That’s really what it’s about for us.”

Both projects are before the Planning Board, with some work, such as remediation and updating the road and utility infrastructure, already underway.

This is only phase one for the Bellforge Arts Center. Plans are in place for Phase Two, which would include a culinary arts and visual arts program. It will consist of similar support spaces and classrooms, and the reactivation of one of the agricultural fields located near the property.

“To have culinary artists, visual artists, and performing artists all within walking distance of each other – it’s going to be really amazing to create these conditions for collaborations that we haven’t even thought of yet,” said Mineo.

The post An old Mass. mental hospital – and ‘Shutter Island’ film site – is becoming a $30 million arts hub appeared first on The News Pulse .

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