Acton Academy spends $2.9M on Main Street home

Acton Academy’s footprint just got a little bit bigger.

As students scattered for the summer, the private school’s director of marketing and communications, Tavia Lee-Goldstein, said leaders were still deciding what to do with the single-family home at 221 Main Street.

The academy paid $2.9 million for the 1976 property on June 4, records show.  

Leslie Cheney said she put her longtime home on the market as she moved into the Newbury Court senior living community. In an email, Cheney said several people looked at the property, “but Acton Academy made a fair offer and I was happy to sell my home so quickly.”

Acton Academy has occupied its main campus for decades. The school expanded in 1997 and again in 2004 when it bought 185 Main Street and 207 Main Street, respectively. 

Acton Academy acquired its athletic campus on Fairhaven Road in 2007. After a 15-year pause, the school bought two properties on Belknap Street in 2022. 

Except for the athletic fields and admissions offices in 207 Main Street, Acton Academy has used newly acquired properties for faculty housing. 

Lee-Goldstein said she had no updates on 221 Main Street plans when reached by email last week.

Acton Academy leaders vowed last year to develop a campus master plan for a new student center, more faculty and staff housing, and boarding residence upgrades, among other things. 

The town is also eyeing the school as it seeks payment in lieu of tax agreements with tax-exempt landowners.

PILOTs are intended to recoup some lost tax revenue and offset non-profit hits to town services. 

221 Main Street had an assessed property value of $2.15 million in the 2025 fiscal year. After last month’s sale, the value will come off the tax rolls. 

Acton Academy representatives responded to PILOT questions in a joint statement with other non-profit schools in December. 

“We are proud to serve and support our local community and the many Acton students and families we enroll,” administrators said, in part. 

The schools said they look forward to “continuing our partnership” with the town.