From Classrooms to Living Rooms: How Connecticut’s Vacant Schools Are Becoming Housing Solutions

As Connecticut continues to grapple with a persistent housing shortage, cities across the state are finding creative solutions in the most unexpected places—former school buildings. These once-bustling centers of education are being transformed into modern apartment complexes, offering a second life to aging infrastructure while adding critical housing stock to communities in need.

Why Schools Make Smart Housing Conversions

Old schools offer several advantages as residential conversion projects. Structurally sound and often centrally located, these buildings already sit within established neighborhoods with access to public transit, parks, and local amenities. Their large windows, high ceilings, and historic architectural details lend character to living spaces that are often missing from new construction.

Moreover, developers can tap into state and federal historic preservation tax credits, making the economics of adaptive reuse more feasible—especially when compared to building new units from the ground up.

Housing Solutions Rooted in Local History

🏙️ Waterbury: Schoolhouse Apartments

In Waterbury, three long-closed schools—Wilby, Webster, and Bishop—have been transformed into the Schoolhouse Apartments. These properties now offer over 200 affordable units, primarily for elderly and disabled residents. The project preserved the buildings' architectural character while addressing an urgent local need for accessible housing. It’s a model example of how historic preservation and social impact can align.

🧱 New Haven: Strong School Redevelopment

Over in New Haven, the shuttered Strong School is being reimagined as a 58-unit apartment complex featuring mixed-income housing and community spaces. This development highlights a forward-thinking approach, emphasizing inclusivity and neighborhood revitalization. By restoring a vacant structure instead of tearing it down, the project preserves a piece of the city’s educational legacy while offering much-needed homes.

🏢 Meriden: From Convent to Community Housing

In Meriden, the former St. Joseph School was recently demolished, but the adjacent convent has been saved and repurposed into residential units. While not a school conversion in the strictest sense, it demonstrates how educational and religious institutions tied to historic school campuses can still serve the community’s evolving needs.

🏛️ New Britain: St. Mary’s Parochial School

St. Mary’s in New Britain stands as an early success story. Converted in the 1990s into senior housing, this 1904 Classical Revival building has maintained its exterior grandeur while providing affordable, dignified housing to elderly residents. It's a testament to how thoughtful redevelopment can balance history with modern living.

🏫 Middletown: Woodrow Wilson High School

Middletown’s former Woodrow Wilson High School is another example of successful adaptive reuse. Built in 1931, the building has been converted into apartments that preserve its classic façade and layout. It adds residential capacity while honoring the town’s civic past—proving that even large, dated structures can serve contemporary needs.

Beyond the Bricks: The Broader Benefits

These projects offer more than just new housing—they represent a broader shift toward smart growth, sustainability, and community revitalization. By reusing existing structures, towns can limit sprawl, preserve open space, and inject life back into neglected properties. Residents benefit from unique living spaces steeped in local history, while municipalities see increased tax revenues and revitalized neighborhoods.

The Challenges of Repurposing Schools

Of course, these conversions aren’t without hurdles. Renovating aging infrastructure is often more complex and costly than new construction. Developers must navigate building codes, zoning laws, and occasionally resistance from residents wary of change. Still, with the right incentives and community engagement, these challenges can be overcome—as the projects across central Connecticut clearly show.

Conclusion: A Vision for the Future

As Connecticut faces one of the worst housing shortages in recent history, the answer may lie in the buildings we already have. Waterbury, New Haven, Meriden, New Britain, and Middletown are proving that the adaptive reuse of old schools is more than just a creative housing solution—it’s a smart, sustainable strategy for urban development.

Looking for housing in one of Connecticut’s revitalized historic properties? Interested in investing or learning more about adaptive reuse opportunities? Contact us below for help with buying, selling, renting, investing, tenant placement, or property management.

Will CT’s New Housing and Development Laws Help or Hurt Your Property Value?

New housing laws at the Capitol could impact suburban property values — is your home next on the market?

As the Connecticut General Assembly races toward its June 4 adjournment, a slate of bills are gaining attention — not just for their policy goals but for their ripple effects across the state’s real estate market. From housing supply and redevelopment opportunities to broader quality-of-life enhancements, these legislative moves have implications that homeowners, renters, investors, and landlords should understand.

Revitalizing Communities: Brownfield Redevelopment Bill

One of the most impactful real estate-related bills to gain traction is the state’s major economic development legislation targeting over 2,600 brownfield properties — former industrial or commercial sites affected by environmental contamination. The bill, passed unanimously by the House, unlocks funds to clean up these areas and encourages their redevelopment.

Why does this matter to the housing market? Cleaned and revitalized brownfields can quickly become the sites of new residential communities, mixed-use developments, or small business hubs — all of which elevate property values and neighborhood vitality. The economic impact is expected to reach $3.75 billion, along with more than 2,000 new jobs.

For real estate investors and developers, this opens a window of opportunity to be part of community reinvention — with the added potential of incentives and government backing.

Zoning and Affordability: Multi-Family Housing and TOD Proposals

Housing affordability remains a statewide concern, and lawmakers are advancing proposals to address it through zoning reform. One bill would prevent municipalities from outright banning multi-family housing — a policy shift that could diversify housing stock and expand rental availability in suburbs and small towns.

Another notable initiative, the “Work, Live, Ride” bill, aims to encourage higher-density housing near transit hubs. By aligning housing growth with transportation infrastructure, the bill supports more walkable, connected communities — a factor that increasingly attracts both renters and buyers, especially younger professionals.

These proposals, if passed, could reconfigure how and where Connecticut grows, making areas once considered commuter corridors into vibrant residential zones.

Landlord-Tenant Dynamics: Just Cause Eviction Bill Stalls

On the tenant protection front, a bill requiring landlords to provide a valid reason when choosing not to renew a lease — known as “just cause eviction” — failed to advance. While tenant advocacy groups expressed disappointment, many property owners saw the stalled legislation as a reprieve from what they viewed as restrictive policy.

Still, the conversation around tenant rights is far from over. Whether it's new rent control discussions, potential future eviction reforms, or local housing code updates, landlords face an evolving regulatory environment that can be hard to track alone.

If you're a landlord feeling uncertain about how new or proposed laws might affect your obligations — or you’re simply ready to step away from managing a property — it might be time to consider professional support. Whether you need help staying compliant, finding quality tenants, or are thinking about selling altogether, we offer discreet, knowledgeable property management and sales services to help you navigate next steps with confidence.

Other Legislative Moves Touching the Real Estate Landscape

While not directly tied to housing policy, several other legislative developments have implications worth noting:

• Reckless Driving Law: New penalties for excessive speeding aim to make neighborhoods safer — and safer streets often translate into more desirable places to live.

• Digital Currency and Asset Seizure: A new law recognizes digital currencies as legal property for asset seizure, helping clarify how crypto assets may be treated in real estate transactions — a growing concern for crypto-savvy investors.

• Voting Infrastructure Improvements: Faster deployment of modern voting machines signals stronger civic infrastructure — a subtle but meaningful boost to community confidence and long-term stability, both important to homebuyers.

Looking Ahead

Connecticut’s 2025 legislative session is poised to shape the state’s real estate dynamics for years to come. From boosting redevelopment to rethinking housing density and zoning, the decisions made now will influence investment strategies, property values, and neighborhood growth trajectories across the state.

Whether you're a homeowner, investor, or landlord, staying informed — and supported — is key. For personalized guidance on how these developments might impact your properties or plans, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Why New Homes Come With Lower Mortgage Rates, and What It Means for You

According to Realtor.com, one surprising trend is gaining traction in today's housing market: buyers of new-construction homes are getting significantly lower mortgage rates compared to those purchasing existing homes. In 2024, the average rate for new homes was 6.1%, while existing homes averaged 6.6%.

Understanding Mortgage Rate Buydowns

This difference is largely due to a strategy called a mortgage rate buydown. In these arrangements, builders pay an upfront fee to reduce a buyer’s interest rate, either temporarily or permanently. With interest rates remaining elevated, these incentives help reduce monthly mortgage payments and make new homes more attractive to budget-conscious buyers.

As the chart below illustrates, the mortgage rate gap between new-construction and existing homes has widened significantly in recent years, peaking at a 0.5% difference in 2024.

Implications for Homebuyers

For buyers, especially first-timers, these incentives can be a game-changer. Not only are monthly payments lower, but new-construction homes also come with modern layouts, energy-efficient features, and minimal upfront maintenance needs—appealing perks that add value beyond the financing.

Considerations for Sellers of Existing Homes

Sellers of previously owned homes face growing competition. To attract buyers, they may need to offer comparable incentives, such as covering closing costs, offering home warranties, or adjusting their pricing strategies to remain competitive with new builds that come with rate buydowns.

Advice for Renters and Investors

Renters considering homeownership may find this an opportune time to enter the market via new builds—especially if they can secure one of these rate incentives. For investors, the expanding gap between new and existing home financing could affect rental market dynamics, competition, and long-term property values.

Navigating Today’s Housing Market

Whether you’re buying your first home, preparing to sell, evaluating rentals, or expanding your investment portfolio, understanding mortgage rate trends like these is key to making informed decisions.

Contact us below if you need guidance tailored to your specific goals—whether it's buying, selling, renting, investing, or navigating mortgage options in today's shifting real estate landscape.