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Commission approves subdivision and special exception to convert St. John school into 16 apartments
Summary
Middletown’s planning commission unanimously approved a two-lot subdivision and a special exception to convert the former St. John school at 5 Saint John Square into 16 residential units, with conditions including recorded easements, a maintenance agreement for an archway, and rental-rate restrictions requiring 12 units at 100% AMI and 4 at 80% AMI.
The Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to approve a two-lot subdivision and a special exception allowing the conversion of the former St. John school at 5 Saint John Square into 16 apartments.
Developer Dimitri Caruda of PB Projects 18 (Parker Benjamin) told the commission his firm plans to retain the building’s exterior and preserve character-defining elements inside — citing tin ceilings and woodwork — while turning 16 classrooms into residential units. "Everything we do aims to preserve what is there," Caruda said, adding the project will pursue historic-tax credits and that variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals have been secured.
The commission adopted several conditions tied to approval. The subdivision (6.1) requires a pedestrian access easement along the walkway between the school and the church, filing of variance certificates and compliance with MXI zone standards, a restoration and maintenance agreement for the arch between properties, and recorded water and sewer easements. The special exception and site plan (6.2) were approved with conditions requiring a written shared-use parking agreement for a North Main Street lot, a requirement that the exterior and site be restored and maintained consistent with the building’s historic period, and rental-rate restrictions limiting 12 units to about 100% area median income (AMI) and 4 units to 80% AMI.
Commissioners asked about the diocese’s support and how interior historic features would be retained. Caruda said the church agreed to the sale and described a documentation-and-restoration process, noting some changes are unavoidable for life-safety compliance but that the project will restore or sympathetically replicate original features when preservation is not possible.
Parking and pedestrian access drew follow-up questions. Commissioners and the developer said parishioners typically use other church parking and that a crosswalk provides pedestrian access; commissioners recommended repaving an overflow lot. The motion to approve both items, as amended, passed unanimously.
