After purchasing the former Allenstown Elementary School building from the School Board for $1 in January, Allenstown is moving ahead with plans to convert the space into town offices and eventually a community center.
The building has stood empty since the opening of the newly constructed Allenstown Community School in the spring of 2024, which marked a merging of the town’s elementary and middle schools under one roof.
The Board of Selectmen voted to move town offices to the elementary school building at a meeting last month. They had been navigating concerns about the suitability of their current office space at 16 School Street.
The current town office building is small and inconveniently designed, according to Scott McDonald, chair of the select board. The front desk and meeting room are essentially connected, and there’s little sound insulation between the lower and upper levels, creating a vulnerable environment.
“I can’t wait to move out of here,” McDonald said. “There’s no privacy.”
McDonald hopes that the move to the old elementary school will help solve this issue.
In the new town office building, “if someone’s coming in and asking for assistance, if they’ve got a tax bill or something, they’re not going to have to stand there and have everyone else in the room know their business,” McDonald said.
The Armand R. Dupont School, which functioned as the town’s middle school prior to the Community School opening, had similarly been sitting empty. The building ended up being purchased by the Diocese of Manchester, also for $1, McDonald said. It is still unclear how the Diocese will use the building at this time.
Beyond becoming town offices, the elementary school building will also serve as a multi-use facility with a community center, pre-kindergarten classrooms, historical society space and a potential training site for paramedics and firefighters.
“We’re anxious to use it as a community center,” McDonald said. “I’m hoping that we can mark the floor for pickleball in there.”
McDonald said the gymnasium will also be a good venue for basketball games, cheerleading practices and town elections, which have already happened there multiple times since the building ceased being an educational space.
Allenstown used $440,000 of voter money stored in a capital reserve fund to pay for an engineering study to accommodate the various building uses.
“We see a lot of potential here. If it’s going to happen, we have to spend some money. We’ve got a fair amount in the bank, so it’ll be a good start,” McDonald said. “We just approved the first expenditures last night… securing the building.”
A transition committee composed of elected officials, employees and some residents will manage the renovation of the old building.
To isolate the SAU 53 pre-school, which was already operating out of the elementary school building, the town administrator and road agent are working on a traffic plan. The pre-school consists of two classes a day during school sessions.
“It will be seamless for people dropping off their kids and picking them up,” McDonald said.
McDonald hopes that taxpayers will see the value in the soon-to-be converted building.
“Trying to fund our municipal activities here in this town has always been a challenge… it’s been a challenge for this board and for every board before us,” McDonald said.
Since Bear Brook State Park takes up over half of Allenstown, a sizable portion of the land is not taxable, meaning residents have to cover more through property taxes for projects like this.
“We’re really proud of the services we offer here, given the challenges the town has,” said McDonald. “The town’s going in the right direction.”
McDonald says the board is hoping to move into the new building by the second week of March, when town elections take place. In the meantime, the building will be retrofitted to accommodate the town hall and various offices.