New life proposed for Lewis County elementary school

LOWVILLE, New York (WWNY) - Lawmakers say it would be a win for Lewis County.

There’s a new vision for the former Glenfield Elementary School, converting it into a senior living community.

On Tuesday, Rochester’s Cornerstone Group shared its proposal to the Lewis County Legislature’s finance and rules committee.

“At this point we would definitely consider this a win,” District 3 Legislator Jessica Moser said. “We haven’t actually approved it, and it hasn’t closed yet, so we always have to be cautiously optimistic, but it does look like this is going to be as good as a solution to a problem.”

The developer plans to turn the former elementary property into about 50 affordable senior living units.

“When we came to Glenfield, we instantly fell in love with it,” senior project manager Robert Loud said. “The school has really fantastic bones.”

There are old bones to repurpose and new bones to construct. An additional building will be needed to accommodate the number of units.

It would include six studio apartments, 44 one-bedroom apartments, and four two-bedroom apartments.

Common areas would include a kitchen, a fitness center, a laundromat and a garden.

“A raised garden bed, behind the school, that will be accessible via wheelchair and other means, just so the seniors have a nice serving place to just relax,” Loud said.

A public park and locally operated day care are also part of the proposal.

Rochester Cornerstone Group has converted former schools into housing in the past.

“It really is neat,” vice president in development Ryan Brandt said. “We just talked about it with the legislators, just how well the schools can fit an apartment unit. The sizing is very similar, the number of bathrooms, the plumbing hookups for it fits very well.”

As for the next steps, Moser says if the proposal passes the county board, a closing could be done by the end of 2024, with construction completed by 2026.

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