Abraham Pierson School Project

We are excited to announce that the Pierson School Project which is a multiphase project is now entering the sale and design phase. To ensure that all stakeholders have access to the most current information, we have established a dedicated location for project updates.

This resource will provide comprehensive information on the project's development, upcoming timelines, public information sessions and other pertinent details to ensure transparency and community engagement throughout the process.

A little history on this project: 

Abraham Pierson School is located at 75 East Main St. In 2018, the town’s Board of Education voted to close the Pierson school at the end of the 2019 school year 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 and had been open for 80 years at the time. The town sent out a Request for Proposal to gauge interest in redeveloping the property.

At a meeting on Dec. 20, 2023, the Town Council unanimously voted to recommend the former Pierson School property be sold to developers HOPE Partnership Inc. and Xenolith Partners LLC for $500,000. The developers have proposed turning the former school into affordable housing with an eye toward senior citizens and space for senior programming needs.

The proposed design would create 50 units of affordable housing. The project promises to be unique, as it aims to preserve the exterior of the historic school built in 1932 while refitting it into a modern apartment development, with senior citizens as the preferred tenants. Essex-based Hope Partnership and Xenolith Partners LLC, a New York and Connecticut development company, are working together on the project. Some 30 units will be located in the brick Colonial Revival-style elementary school, which has been vacant for the past five years. The other 20 units will be in a new structure behind the main building on the 3.62-acre site. The original gymnasium will be preserved and leased back to the town to use as a senior center.

For any questions or further inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact the Town Manager's office via email. We appreciate your interest and support as we work to bring this project to fruition.

Thank you for staying engaged and informed!

Michelle Benivegna

Town Manager

mbenivegna@clintonct.org

Town Council held an Informational Meeting to present the Abraham Pierson School Adaptive Reuse Plan on Wednesday, September 11th at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall Green Room. To view the recording from the meeting please click below.

Town Council Informational Meeting on the Abraham Pierson School Project

For FAQs and the latest updates on the plans to redevelop the former Pierson School, Please visit:

Xenolith Partners & Hope Partnership Website