Our History
The building that Schoolhouse Apartments occupies was originally constructed as a middle school in 1931 by the Town of New Canaan. The new school helped to relieve the growing student population at the high school next door (now the headquarters of the New Canaan Police Department). The building is a fine example of red brick Colonial Revival architecture.
In 1992, Schoolhouse Apartments, Inc. was established as a non-profit organization and set about securing funds to renovate and convert the building into forty units of affordable senior housing through the Federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) 202C program. During the renovation of the building, the original tower clocks were restored. Renovation of the building was completed in 1993 and residents were welcomed into their new homes.
Our Mission
The mission of the Board of Directors of Schoolhouse Apartments in New Canaan, CT is to promote a pleasant and safe living environment for all of our residents.
We strive to provide residents with apartments that are in compliance with HUD standards as well as other regulatory bodies.
We support programs to educate residents concerning healthy living to enable them to enrich both their physical health and well-being and to promote social interaction.
Updates concerning our social and health programs as well as general operations are part of the agenda of all of our meetings of the Board of Directors. Board members are also designated to interact with staff and residents on a regular basis.
From time to time, the Board sponsors informal events which facilitate contact with the residents.
We encourage our EHM on-site managers to engage in benchmarking with similar operations to determine our program’s relative effectiveness and to seek out new opportunities for service to our residents.
Promoting Healthy Living
The Town of New Canaan, which owns the property, leases the building to the Board of Directors of Schoolhouse Apartments, Inc.. Elderly Housing Management, Inc. (EHM), located in North Haven, CT, are the contract managers. At HUD’s request, and funded by HUD, EHM hired a Resident Services Coordinator (RSC) to facilitate medical and social services to accomodate our residents. The RSC also promotes programs that educate residents on healthy living to enable them to enrich their physical health and promote general wellness and social interaction.
Our Board of Directors
The Board of Directors meets on a quarterly basis, or more frequently as needed. Board members do not receive compensation for their services.
Active Members
Brian Hollstein, President
Dr. John Kerchoff, Vice President
Richard Brookshire, Treasurer
Joel Pelzner, Secretary
Elizabeth Cosco
Clementina Gardner
Rev. Scott Herr
Ralph Hills
Kelly McDermott
Roger Saunders
Bethany Zaro
Members Emeritus
James Bach
Jack Messert
Sheila Rosenthal
Fisina Tomaselli
Our Management
Elderly Housing Management (EHM) is a non-profit management firm incorporated in 1974. They specialize in providing real estate management services to non-profit housing providers. EHM is located in North Haven, CT. Currently, EHM manages over 2,600 units of non-profit housing in over fifty separate housing community locations throughout Connecticut and a small number in Massachusetts.
EHM provides us with a professional facilities manager, a Resident Services Coordinator, a superintendent, and a maintenance worker. EHM’s corporate director of property management frequently attends meetings of our Board of Directors to provide expert advice.