Abraham Pierson School General Contractor

The Town of Clinton in Middlesex County, Connecticut, is seeking a qualified general contractor for the redevelopment of the historic Abraham Pierson School into a residential senior housing project. This Request for Qualifications (RFQ) solicitation, numbered TH2025-03, is open from March 31, 2025, to April 25, 2025, and aims to transform the property into up to 50 units of affordable senior apartments. The project will be funded through 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and Historic Tax Credits (HTC). Prospective contractors must meet specific threshold requirements, including being licensed in Connecticut, possessing a minimum of five years of residential construction experience, and providing reference letters from clients and material suppliers. Key qualifications include demonstrating a payment and performance bonding capacity of $20 million per project, maintaining commercial general liability insurance coverage of at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate with $5 million in excess liability coverage, and having completed at least one similar project funded by CHFA and/or DOH within the past five years. The primary contact for this solicitation is Andrea Kretchmer from Xenolith Partners LLC, who can be reached at 917-747-8396 or andrea@xenolithpartners.com.

While the solicitation does not explicitly mention specific set-aside designations for disadvantaged enterprises, the project appears to be focused on creating affordable senior housing through tax credit financing. The RFQ does not indicate any incumbent vendors or existing contractors for the Abraham Pierson School redevelopment. The project represents a significant investment in adaptive reuse of a historic property, converting an existing school building into residential apartments for seniors. Although a precise budget range is not specified in the available documentation, the requirement for $20 million in bonding capacity suggests a substantial project scope. The use of LIHTC and Historic Tax Credits indicates a complex financing structure that likely influences the overall project economics. Potential bidders should be prepared to demonstrate extensive experience in affordable housing development, historic preservation, and senior living construction to be competitive in this procurement opportunity.