A boarded-up relic of Middletown's psychiatric hospital past could become the city's newest school, with officials proposing a roughly $65 million renovation of the long-abandoned Kleiner building to house universal pre-K classrooms and specialized education space. The building has sat empty since 2006, but Middletown School Superintendent Amy Creeden and Mayor Joe DeStefano walked through the crumbling structure this week to lay out a vision that would turn it into a school serving both the Middletown district and Orange-Ulster BOCES.
The proposed project would renovate the abandoned building as a school offering universal pre-K and specialized elementary education, with Orange-Ulster BOCES leasing classroom space for regional children who need specialized educational services, according to News 12. Creeden estimated the total renovation could cost approximately $65 million, a figure that includes interior reconstruction, asbestos removal and heating-system improvements, per the same report. Separately, Mid Hudson News put the total cost to develop the Kleiner building between $65 million and $70 million, citing city officials.
The City of Middletown owns the 14-acre parcel, though reported building sizes vary — News 12 cites 84,000 square feet, while Mid Hudson News cites approximately 80,000 square feet. The structure once served as a recreation center for patients of the Middletown Psychiatric Center, complete with a pool, gym, bowling alley and auditorium, according to WAMC. The hospital closed in 2006, and the city acquired the former state-owned property in 2024.
From Community Center to Classroom Plan
The building was originally envisioned as a community center, but those plans have since shifted toward an educational facility, per Mid Hudson News. The proposed renovation now includes classrooms, a cafeteria, a library and outdoor play areas, and plans call for restoring the gymnasium and auditorium for both school and community use, according to News 12.
The shift reflects pressure building inside the Middletown school district itself. The district is bulging at the seams and outsourcing a lot of its universal pre-K programming, Mid Hudson News reports. Creeden said hundreds of people sit on waitlists because programs aren't available to meet their needs, and new state requirements will force school districts to eliminate those universal pre-K waitlists altogether, per News 12.
That local strain mirrors a statewide pattern. Roughly 4,600 eligible New York children lacked the option to even apply for a state-funded pre-K seat during the prior school year, according to New York Focus. Of 673 eligible school districts statewide, 37 offered only half-day pre-K and 49 offered no state-supported pre-K at all, and more than a third of eligible children outside New York City went unenrolled, the outlet found.
A Five-Year Timeline, If the Money Comes Through
Some children needing specialized education are currently bused outside Orange County entirely to get the services they need, News 12 reports. DeStefano said a five-year-old relative's one-hour bus ride each way, one way, was devastating — a hardship officials hope the new facility could eliminate for local families.
Money remains the biggest obstacle. The project has received $10 million in state funding, but Mayor DeStefano said Middletown is still about $9 million to $10 million short of what's needed, according to Mid Hudson News. That $10 million figure was echoed by HGAR, though earlier reporting from News 12 Hudson Valley described $6.6 million in state funding for the building, made up of matching $3.3 million grants from the state Assembly and Senate. The discrepancy between those figures has not been publicly reconciled.
District officials say they aim to complete the project without additional costs to local school taxpayers, though the plan remains in early planning stages. If approved and fully funded, the renovation could take approximately five years to complete, and district voters could get a say in the matter as early as May 2027, according to News 12.
