Help Create a Community Hall and Theater in Downtown Clayton: Update on the status of the Mule Company Building in Downtown Clayton
Many of you who attended the May 18, 2025 “World’s Shortest Dance Concert” expressed a lot of excitement at the prospect of a performing arts space as part of the Mule Company Building’s reuse. Since the town has now completed the engineering assessment of the building and has begun to collect input from various stakeholders, we wanted to update you on the building’s status.
Before we do that, however, please keep your eyes open for the public input session on the building. That session will occur during an upcoming Town Council Meeting. It is not on the agenda for the Monday, August the 4th meeting, but Jacobs Engineering, the firm hired to coordinate the adapative reuse of the building, wants to have all the stakeholder group meetings conducted ASAP. So my guess is that the public input session will scheduled for a Monday in September. Town Coucil meetings are at 6:00 in the Council Chambers at Town Hall. We will alert you to the meeting’s date and time once we know it. You can also check for Mule Building on the town council agenda here.
Please plan to come and speak about how you would like to see the building re-purposed. The more voices that emphasize the need for a community hall with a performing arts space, the better the chances are that it will be a part of the redesign.
Engineering report: The long and short of the engineering report is that the building is in pretty sound condition. With a couple of exceptions, there is only a need for cosmetic repairs (unless drainage problems are discovered.) Those exceptions are discussed in the stakeholder report below.
Input Sessions with Key Stakeholders:
Input sessions with the Mayor, Town Council, Town Advisory Committees, and local business leaders and the chamber will have been conducted by the time you read this.
What follows is a report from the 7.29 meeting for Town Advisory Committees. Deborah Hooker was able to attend as a member of the Clayton Planning Board.
Advisory Boards attending: Planning Board, Parks & Rec, Downtown Development, Fire Department, Library, Public Art, Board of Adjustment
The following points were echoed by many of the Advisory groups there: the “new” Mule Company building should
- Be a multi-use, dynamic venue (a point the consultant said was also emphasized by town council members)
- Preserve the historic significance of the building
- Promote the historic significance of the building
- Engage as many town constituencies as possible; uses should cater to citizens of all ages and interests, i.e., classes, art exhibits, historical exhibits, performances, etc.
Participants also noted that any permanent commercial component (e.g., coffee shop) should not compete with other Clayton businesses
Deborah specifically advocated for a performing arts space, a suggestion seconded by the Parks & Rec and the Public Arts Advisory folks. She also asked if it was possible, in the spirit of creating a true community hall, to remove some of the posts (that form the mule stalls and run the length of the building ) to open up part of the space for performances and community dances.
The answer: Removing some of the posts is not out of the question but would be expensive, according to the consultant.
However, one development which might make removing some posts less of a structural issue is that one of the first adaptations to the building will be to add AC and heating (insulation, ductwork, etc). This would involve replacing and shoring up the roof with steel beams to support the additional weight of AC. To some degree, this should make the removal of any weight-bearing posts less of an issue.
The consultant also noted that, depending upon the specific reuse decisions, the Mule Co. building project would need to proceed in phases, with heating and air the first step, and other modifications occurring later.
Other info: the grass lot on the North side of the building, the lot and building on the back side are all part of the property, as well as the immediately adjacent parking spaces. This offers potential space for storage or other amenities.