The Middletown, Connecticut, Planning and Zoning Commission was expected to review an application next month to permit the conversion of a former school building into a residential structure.
Developer Dimitrios Karouta of PB Projects 18 LLC based in Unionville is seeking site plan and special exception approvals along with zoning waivers that would allow the former St. John’s School building at 5 St. John’s Square in Middletown to be converted into a residential development. The special exception is being sought to allow conversion of an historic structure. The proposal would turn the school building into a 16-unit residential building with 14 one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units.
The project would provide a mix of affordability, with four of the units targeted to households earning 80% of Middletown’s Area Median Income (AMI) and the remaining 12 units priced for occupants earning 100% of AMI. The school building location would be legally subdivided from the church property. St. John’s Church was formally established in 1843, making it the oldest church in the Diocese of Norwich.
The school building is in Middletown’s historic inventory and is the subject of a State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and National Park Service (NPS) tax credit application. The developer says that all exterior rehabilitation work will comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards with no planned changes to the exterior of the building.
Karouta says that the proposed residential use is compatible with both the structure’s institutional character and the surrounding neighborhood. The building will retain its identity, and adaptive reuse will preserve its visual relationship to the church.
A subdivision is being sought so that the school building will be on its own lot, separate from the adjoining church. The developer needs a variance from setback requirements since the property subdivision will result in what is described as “a tight lot configuration.”
The developer will not be providing on-site parking due to space constraints and preservation requirements but has secured a shared parking arrangement with St. John’s Church Corp., providing residential parking access to the adjacent church lot. The developer notes that overflow parking is available on adjacent streets.
Karouta says the project “advances Middletown’s housing affordability and historic preservation goals, preserves a culturally significant structure, and activates an underutilized property.”
Connecticut’s Historical Commission Inventory reported that soon after its beginning in 1843 St. John’s Church established a parochial school. For some years the school was conducted by lay teachers. From 1866 to 1872, the school was part of the public school system of Middletown and then in May of 1872 seven nuns from the Sisters of Mercy order in Ireland arrived to re-establish religious control of the school. By 1896 about 500 pupils were being taught there.
The current school building was erected in 1887 and blessed in 1888. Around 1900, electrical wiring and indoor plumbing were installed. The building uses red brick, a brownstone foundation and a slate roof.
