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The Montessori School of the Finger Lakes is on Pine Ridge Road not far from the vacant center. The school moved to its existing building in 2010. 

Amanda Gould, assistant head of school at the Montessori campus in Sennett, said the biggest concern about the state's plans for the center is the safety of the school's 55 students. She worried that parents could be "a little bit apprehensive" about having their children attend a school within close proximity to a facility housing youth offenders. 

"Our property is not fenced in and there is no barrier between our property," she said, adding that the Tubman center can be seen from the school's parking lot and playground. 

The state Office of General Services is at the center, which has been shuttered since 2011. The state Office of Children and Family Services, which will manage the site, said the facility's main building and its outdoor recreational space will be surrounded by a 12-foot-tall chain link, alarmed fence topped with razor wire. 

The fence will be equipped with 20-foot-high pole-mounted exterior LED lighting fixtures. A closed-circuit camera system will be used to monitor the property. 

Two of the buildings on the Tubman center's campus will house 22 residents between the ages of 16 and 21, according to the state Office of Children and Family Services. These buildings will be equipped with administrative offices, dining and kitchen areas, classrooms and medical facilities. 

Two other buildings on the campus will be used for maintenance and vehicle garages. 

"Under New York's therapeutic model of care, youth in OCFS facilities receive services that are educational, vocational and recreational," the agency said in a statement. "Youth are also provided medical, mental health, counseling and substance abuse services as needed. This array of services is designed to prepare and equip youth for a successful life upon their release." 

The need for additional limited secure facilities stems from the decision to raise the age of criminal responsibility in New York. Before the change, 16- and 17-year-olds could be charged as adults for crimes. 

Raising the age of criminal responsibility will be phased in beginning with 16-year-olds in 2018 and 17-year-olds in 2019. Limited secure facilities, such as the Tubman center, will house youth offenders convicted of misdemeanor and felony offenses. 

Until the Tubman center closed in 2011, it was used as a detention center for girls. The new use of the facility and the upgrades planned at the site has Gould and others at the Montessori school concerned about how it may affect enrollment. 

While there's uncertainty about the project and what it would mean for the school, Gould didn't rule out the possibility of relocation. 

"We're growing and we're becoming popular within the community," she said. "If we would have to uproot, I don't think it would be beneficial to anyone involved ... If our enrollment is affected greatly because of that then yes, we may have to move."