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Council to Talk Pierson

The Town Council plans to schedule a workshop in August to discuss potential future uses, and associated costs, for the now-vacant Pierson School. A date had not been set at press time.

Though there is still a ways to go before anything concrete happens with the property, the Town Council will once again talk about the future of the school property this month. At a meeting on July 20, Town Manager Karl Kilduff told the Council he was working to gather cost estimates for potential uses and asked Council members if they would like to hold a workshop. The Council agreed to set a workshop for an unspecified time and date in August.

Finding a new use for the Pierson School has been a long process that has captured the attention of many Clinton residents. The Pierson School has been empty for nearly three years after having been part of the Clinton education community for more than 80. In 2018, the town’s Board of Education voted to close the school at the end of the 2019 school year. A facility-needs study conducted by the school system found that closing the school was the prudent move in the face of declining enrollment and rising operational costs.

While some residents have voiced frustrations with how long the process has taken, town leaders have pushed back on those claims. Town Council Chair Chris Aniskovich has pointed out that the Council and Kilduff have been working diligently to find uses for Pierson. Due to legal matters concerning the property, many of the discussions by the Council have been conducted in executive session away from the public.

That’s not to say there has been no public updates on the property this year. The biggest issue with finding a new use for the property has to do with the deed of the building. When the Morgan Fund Trustees sold the property to the town in 1953, a deed on the property from the sale stated that the premises must always be used for the education interests of the residents.

Since 2019, the town has been pursuing legal action on the property, which would lift the deed restriction. In March of 2022 the town council unanimously agreed to a resolution that would pay the Morgan trust $75,670 to help remove the deed restriction.

“The process we are working through involves making a payment to the trust in consideration of their original contribution to remove the deed restriction that was placed on the property by the trust. The trust and the town have agreed that $75,670 is a fair payment to the trust to remove the deed restriction,” Kilduff said earlier in 2022.

The Connecticut Attorney General ’s Office needs to approve the payment, but Kilduff said since both the town and the trust are in agreement of the exchange it’s hopeful the state won’t object.

Additionally in the winter an engineering study conducted on the Pierson School was forwarded to the town council. Last Oct. the Town Council approved an appropriation of $12,000 to be used for an engineering study that would hopefully aid in finding potential future uses.

According to the report, the school is in good condition overall, but there were some concerns. The report noted that in one of the classrooms there was a crack in the wall likely from a stress fracture, but that “Based on overall conditions in this vicinity we believe the condition is arrested and can be aesthetically repaired in-place.”

Additionally, the report noted that in the basement and in the library, there was evidence of water infiltration. The report states “these conditions pose long term concerns to the integrity of masonry materials.” The report said that the affected bricks would need to be replaced. The school is on the register of historic places and according to the report, “…historic preservation specifies that historic brick be replaced with a comparable brick” which can be expensive.

As for future uses where remodeling of the building was needed, the report considered three possibilities: library, a library and senior or community center, and residential.

Library

The report estimated that a library would be about 28,000 square feet and not more than two levels.

“The main level is approximately 13,000 square feet, so the library program would fit on the lower level and main floor leaving the upper level open to other uses,” the report stated.

Alternatively, the report said that a mezzanine in the gym could be built to support heavy bookshelves and would allow 20,000 square feet for alternative uses.

Library and Community center

The second option considered in the report said that combining a library with a senior center or community center would allow for more of the building to be used. “Library book stacks require a floor capacity of 100 to 150 psf (pounds per square foot), and, as mentioned, would be best suited for the lower floor of the building,” the report said.

However, due to the height of the floors on the lower level, the report said that it’s possible that a remodeling to allow for an open floor plan would reduce the potential space for a community center.

“Maintaining the existing basketball court would involve conversion of offices to lockers and bathroom facilities,” the report added.

Residential

The report said that converting the building into a residential use was “structurally feasible” especially on the upper floors. “The geometry of the school lends itself to this use with the large size classrooms and high ceilings. The large windows provide sufficient openings for natural light for occupants,” the report said. Some of the space for hallways could eventually be added to the residential space since the hallways are “excessively wide” the report added.