The property which once housed I.J.Samson school on Bennett Avenue in St. John’s is being razed this weekend as the developer, Bill Clarke, gets ready to implement plans to turn the shuttered school into a housing project.
The plan is put up 20 townhouses along Beaumont Street and Bennett Avenue, with remaining space off Bennett Avenue designated for 58 units in nine buildings, to be sold as apartments for seniors. The Eastern School District originally acquired the property from the Anglican church in 1969, then sold the property for a mere $189, 000.
The former school has been vacant since 2011. It had operated for 72 years before it closed Approximately 300 students there were sent to other schools.