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Pierson Sale Approved

At a special town meeting on Sept. 25, Clinton residents voted by a 154-33 margin to sell the Pierson School to developers Xenolith Partners and HOPE Partnership for $500,000. The developers seek to turn the school into a mix of affordable housing with senior programming space run by the Town.

Applause rang out in Town Hall as serious progress was made on two of Clinton’s highest-profile projects: the redevelopment of the Pierson School and the creation of a senior center.

Over 200 people attended the meeting, and the registrar of voters counted 188 total votes. The final tally came out to 154 people for the movie and 33 people against it.

The vote came following a public hearing held the same night at which about 12 people spoke, some for and some against the move.

Proponents of the move cited the longtime need for a senior center as well as the need for affordable housing in the area. The developers have specifically said the housing would be aimed at seniors 62 and older.

Opponents of the move express concerns about a lack of adequate parking on the property, disappointment in the sale price, and a fear the building would be knocked down. The developers clarified that the building would not be knocked down during the meeting, and its façade would be preserved.

When the potential sale of the building was announced, some residents were confused by the $500,000 sale price, especially when compared to the $2.2 million sale of the former Morgan School property in 2020. An FAQ on the town website addresses that concern.

“Because of historic preservation restrictions, there are quite limited options on how to optimize a property like Pierson. This means that the market value of a property like this is not actually as high as folks might initially think, because of the limited uses available and expensive restorations required. In addition, the front lawn, gazebo, and interior spaces for the Town’s senior programs provide ongoing value and service to the community, but restrict the developer’s use of the property,” the page states.

Town Manager Michelle Benivegnas said the vote “was a good move for Clinton.”

The Plan

At an information session held on Sept. 11, developers Xenolith Partners and HOPE Partnership gave a detailed presentation on the proposed redevelopment of the Pierson School.

During the presentation, the developers said the school would be turned into 50 apartments to be marketed preferably toward seniors aged 62 and older. The developers also said that a new wing would need to be constructed on the property.

The gymnasium would be leased back to the Town for $1 for use as a senior center. The Town will be responsible for the programming and operational costs of the senior center. The lawn, gazebo, and statues on the property would remain in place for use by town residents.

The developers said that a parking easement for the church next to the school will also be put in place so that church attendees can continue to park in the lot. The developers are proposing 90 total parking spots, with 50 earmarked for residents, 30 for the church, and 10 dedicated to the public. Members of the public would be able to park in the 30 church spots too when there’s no events going on at the church.

The proposed housing component of the development would include a mix of studio and one-bedroom apartments aimed at people making between 40 and 60% of the area’s median income. The apartments would be marketed with a preference for senior citizens although if the apartments could not be filled, the developers acknowledged that it’s possible the housing would be available to the general public.

Next Steps

The sales agreement is the latest in a what has been a whirlwind of recent news regarding Pierson. Benivegna said the next imitate step would be for her and the developers to officially sign the sales agreement.

On Sept. 18 the Town Council passed a new ordinance that allows for a tax abatement for non-profit entities building affordable housing. While the ordinance can apply to any developer that meets certain criteria and isn’t necessarily just for Pierson, at the meeting on Sept. 11, the developers said the abatement would be needed to help build the Pierson project.

The developers said they are seeking a 32-year abatement during which zero taxes would be paid during the two-year constriction period. After those taxes, $500 per unit would be assessed with 2% escalations for 30 years. The Town Council would need to negotiate and approve any agreement with the developers now that the ordinance is passed and the sale approved.

On Monday, Oct. 7, the Clinton Planning and Zoning Commission will open a public hearing regarding the proposed development. This application would be for the actual work on the property, as opposed to just the sale. The meeting begins at 7 p.m.

The development team said it would begin the applications with the state to get approvals and funding in place during the fall of 2024 and spring of 2025. The developers anticipate a construction start date of November 2025 and a completion date of June 2027.

Years In The Making

The agreement to sell the school comes nearly six years after the Board of Education first announced that the school would close in 2019 after a facility needs study conducted by the school system found that closing the school was prudent in the face of declining enrollment and rising operational costs. The school housed the district’s fourth and fifth graders at the time and had been open for 80 years.

Since the school closed, much speculation and debate has been about what should happen with the property. Then First Selectman Christine Goupil estimated clearing hurdles related to selling the building wouldn’t take longer than 18 months, nor would the school be vacant for long. Six years later, the school is still vacant.

The Town Council and Board of Selectmen had regularly discussed Pierson over the years, but much of the discussions took place in executive session, meaning there was little that could be publicly stated until now.

Between 2013 and 2019, the Town hosted public workshops, conducted an engineering study, and held public feedback sessions, all related to determining the future use of the school. The Town put out a request for proposal in 2023 to gauge interest in redeveloping the property, which received three responses. The Town Council then spent the next few months evaluating the proposals until publicly announcing its recommendation for the current plan at a meeting in Dec. 2023.

Deed Restriction Progress Coming

Despite the approval of a sale, one longtime obstacle to redeveloping the property remains, although it appears real progress is finally close.

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 pursued ongoing legal action, officially called a cy-pres, which would lift the deed restriction. Town officials learned about the deed restriction after the decision to close the school was made in 2018.

For years, there had been no concrete update on the status of the cy-pres. On Sept. 11, former Town Manager Karl Kilduff, who has continued to work on the Pierson sale despite no longer working for the Town, said he believed that once the sale agreement was approved, the cy-pres action would move quickly.