Many adults leave high school and never look back. After all, reliving the days of tests, teenage drama and bad cafeteria food isn’t something most want to repeat. But for some, school buildings themselves hold a certain charm. The echo of your footsteps down a hallway, the smell of the gymnasium.
For a trio of friends, that bit of nostalgia, however, came at a cost of $100,000. But with it, a whole new set of memories for the men to create for themselves, and others. Jesse Wig, Adam Colucci and Dan Spanovich saw potential in a discarded high school. The site in Pennsylvania had sat empty for years, and the men knew they could do something amazing with it.
An old Pennsylvania high school was purchased and turned into apartment buildings. Photo by CNBC
But what that something amazing would be, took 2 years to develop, once they had purchased the building. They went through dozens of ideas, including possibly turning it into a wedding venue, or a beer garden. But Wig, along with Colucci (a real estate investor) and Spanovich (a developer and property manager), finally settled on making it into an apartment building.
We had big eyes, and after two years of spinning our wheels, all the professionals told us that the end of the road is going to be residential,” Colucci said.
“These old buildings can be very challenging to convert,” Spanovich said. “We were willing to take a risk regardless of what use we would have for it. We knew that at this cost, we would be able to find some use for it that would generate enough return to satisfy everybody.”
After all their hard work, the high school now holds 31 apartment units. The auditorium became a communal spot for residents, and well, of course they included a gym. According to CNBC, all the apartments were full within 6 months after opening.
An apartment inside the renovated school building. Photo by CNBC
“We worked closely with the National Park Services to ensure it kept its historical significance,” Colucci said. “We went out of our way to ensure the school kept its historical look.” After their success, the men decided to buy a second school. With the first school, they said, an entire renovation was necessary.
The second school was in better shape ‒ but it did look a bit like a haunted house, they said. “When the buildings look nice, you got a lot of people bidding on them, so you almost want them to look like haunted houses, so you have less competition,” Spanovich said.
They said the plan for the second property is to renovate it into 33 residential units of mostly one-bedrooms and some studios.
“Someone once told me that you’ll go broke buying beautiful buildings, so be careful,” Colucci said. “Luckily we have Dan on our team, and he was able to figure out the logistics to make it work.”
But in the end, it came down to using what already existed. Wig, who lives nearby the newly-renovated high school, said “it has been rewarding and beneficial to see the community improve.”
@jessewigHigh school number 2 🎓♬ Blade Runner 2049 – Synthwave Goose
Sources: Daily Mail | CNBC
