Creative Renovations of Abandoned Schools

A number of great examples of creative re-use of abandoned educational facilities exist around the Midwest. One example that may be relevant to Detroit is the Irish American Heritage Center [[IAHC) in Chicago. Over 25 years ago, a group of dedicated volunteers purchased an abandoned middle school [[Mayfair School) on the northwest side of the city and transformed the facilities into a focal point for the Irish community of the entire metropolitan area hosting various cultural events, concerts, festivals, etc.

A number of old classrooms were transformed into new venues: [[a) the Fifth Province pub lounge, [[b) library, [[c) art gallery, [[d) small theater, and [[e) museum. Other classrooms were preserved for step dancing, music, and language lessons. The old student assembly hall was transformed into a theater/concert venue. The most recent renovations relate to the transformation of the old gymnasium into the “Erin Room� with facilities to host large meetings, dinners, and wedding receptions.

Here is a link for further information: http://irish-american.org/index.php?...tpage&Itemid=1

Could some of Detroit’s abandoned schools be preserved and transformed in a similar manner? Detroit has a large Irish community with a number of groups centered around Corktown [[e.g., the Gaelic League, United Irish Societies, etc.). Has any of these groups thought of pooling their resources to expand their current facilities?

"Could some of Detroit’s abandoned schools be preserved and transformed in a similar manner?"

Of course they could. It already has happened in cities throughout the United States. Does the leadership who can make this happen have any sense of vision? None whatsoever, so you will see nothing become of these buildings.

You don't even have to look outside of the state. Look up the roads in Lansing and Grand Rapids. With an exception of one or two, all of Lansing's closed schools have been put back into reuse, one of the more recent examples being the current renovation of the Holmes Street School into a tech center and tech headquarters:

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Spartan Internet Breaks Ground on $2 million Holmes Street School Renovation

Ryan Vartoogian, president of Spartan Internet Consulting, recently joined several community leaders to celebrate the groundbreaking at the $2 million renovation of the Holmes Street School on Lansing’s Eastside.

The long anticipated project is a complete overhaul of the old building, which will be turned into a technology and educational hub in September.

When the building’s finished, Spartan Internet Consulting will occupy the third floor, software security technology company Aegis Bleu will occupy the second and the Information Technology Empowerment Center [[ITEC) will move into the first.

The ITEC is a nonprofit organization that offers hand-on activities designed to engage kids in math and science. ITEC plans on offering digital media, robotics and other technology courses at the school in the winter. ITEC has been offering these classes since 2007, but since it hasn’t had a headquarters, has been operating from a variety of different locations. ITEC will also offer homework help to neighborhood kids.

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Another old school building recently reused in that city was the old Cedar Street Elementary that'd sat vacant for years:

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Doctors Putting $2.5 Million into Shuttered School in Old Town

Two Lansing area doctors are turning the long-shuttered Cedar Street School into a fitness and rehabilitation center.

Carla Guggenheim, an internist and doctor of osteopathic medicine, and Gail Shafer-Crane, an occupational therapist, are putting $2.5million into the three-story, 20,700 square foot building.

The building has been unoccupied since the late 1980s, has no heating or air-conditioning, and minimal electrical work.

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Check out this story for even more info:

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New Economy Goes Olds School

By: Gretchen Cochran, 8/20/2008

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Old is New [[Economy)

School buildings used to be neighborhood focal points. But for years they’ve been vacated and demolished due to declining enrollments, pressure to build new facilities, and a lack of public support, according to The National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Trust added the loss of neighborhood school buildings to its 2000 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places.

But re-purposing old school buildings is good business, and Lansing entrepreneurs get it.

“It’s always better to re-use a building,” says Ryan Kincaid, of the Kincaid Building Group of East Lansing. “The environmental impact is less, and the overall costs minimized.”

Ryan Henry, Kincaid’s vice president, is more direct: “The greenest building you can ever build is one already built.”

In the last four years, the Lansing School District has sold eight buildings, all for new uses. Sale of the ninth, the old Northwest Elementary near the Capital Region International Airport, should be complete soon.

Such ventures bring one-time revenue to school districts and give new life to the facility and to the neighborhood, says Steve Serkaian, spokesman for Lansing Public Schools. “We can retain our history through the exterior, while entrepreneurs are retrofitting the interiors.”

Two years ago, Neogen bought a second school, Allen Street Elementary on East Kalamazoo Street, for $300,000. [[The 55,000 sq. ft. building cost $50,000 when it was constructed in 1913.)

More than $1 million later, the company is gradually retrofitting classrooms into laboratories, says Jim Houthoofd, Neogen’s controller.

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Up the road even further in Grand Rapids, Union Square Condos is another interesting reuse of an old 1872 high school.

You just have to have the semblence of a local economy in the neighborhood in which you to do these things to get these things, done. Not every school location is going to be appropriate for residential or commercial use.

As much as I like to see things reused, I see alot of talk ,but no action. Schools were built as such ,and thats the way I look at it.
You cannot turn all of the properties on the DPS list into lofts, houses and community centers. Not with this economy.
Sometimes I think there should be a time limit.Let it sit for x amount of time and if nothing is done with it get rid of it.No way was Hudsons gonna be a Dept store again and the market for lofts how big is it ?. Tiger Stadium too, Mud Hens play an hour down 75, How can 2 Baseball clubs exist in this small market?

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Originally Posted by reddog289

As much as I like to see things reused, I see alot of talk ,but no action. Schools were built as such ,and thats the way I look at it.
You cannot turn all of the properties on the DPS list into lofts, houses and community centers. Not with this economy.
Sometimes I think there should be a time limit.Let it sit for x amount of time and if nothing is done with it get rid of it.No way was Hudsons gonna be a Dept store again and the market for lofts how big is it ?. Tiger Stadium too, Mud Hens play an hour down 75, How can 2 Baseball clubs exist in this small market?

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I generally agree that the demand for reusing most of these in Detroit may not be there. But, did you not read my post, at all? None of the ones in Lansing I mentioned were turned into lofts, houses, or community centers. They are being reused as medical offices, corporate offices, by organizations, etc...

I don't get this "Schools were built as such ,and thats the way I look at it." I can understand the economic argument, but that was a totally bizarre comment.

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Originally Posted by mb1

Could some of Detroit’s abandoned schools be preserved and transformed in a similar manner?

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Like this?

You don't even have to go as far as Lansing...in Birmingham they turned the old Barnum School into a Rehabilitation Center. It was run by the Beaumont Hosptial system. I went there for therapy many years ago. I did hear that it closed though. But it was a perfect venue for therapy. Already had a pool and a gym...each classroom was dedicated to a different type of therapy.

Ever been to PS1?

http://ps1.org/


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.S._1_...ary_Art_Center

Mich matters, While I should be asleep. I will comment. Yes I do have some bizarre statements, But what I am getting at is with the number of closed schools and the demand for office space and housing ETC, There will be a large surplus of abandoned schools, which there is right now with seemingly little money or demand for them.
I work in a school,To turn the one school I work at into something other than a community center or maybe offices would require a great deal of work and money.
I myself would rather see the schools stay schools, Yet when there are no kids in the neighborhood there is no need for the school.
On Garrison St in West Dearborn there is an office building that was a former school. That works out. But when you get buildings left to rot such as alot of the buildings abandoned by DPS, Sitting in an abandoned neighborhood what use is that?.
I understand the push for the money being used for education instead of demolition. Yet with the track record of the way DPS has secured their buildings, In some cases they couldn't give some of them buildings away for reuse.Excuse my rant, Yet even if they bricked up those abandoned schools you would still need an access point. Which would trump the whole deal anyway, If no one watches or checks on the building, and the people around don't report the activity.
Yes there will be some great old buildings lost, and the dreams of some people. but given the way things go round here the buildings would sit,rot,and be the cover story in Time Magazine.
I have seen a few of the old one room schoolhouses turned into homes mainly in thee suburbs, Yet as in the case of Woodbury School the one on 29th street, If you can,t keep the "new" HoH houses occupied how can you sell that to a devolper for office space or even lofts or a center. Then in that case it would be what should be done with them abandoned houses across the street.
This whole deal is to me a no win situation. I throw in the towel.

These projects take hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Have you noticed the purposed uses? Libraries? Theaters? Museums? Traditionally, these establishments hardly bring enough revenue to support staff and day-to-day expenses let alone pay for multi-million dollar renovations.

It's a great idea, unless there were grants and a very generous donor, its still a pipe dream that will never happen. Sorry to be Debbie Downer.

-Tahleel

Ypsi's old high school is used as housing for seniors. The City did a wonderful job wiith that one. http://www.emich.edu/public/geo/557book/d377.reuse.htm

Taheel you're not a downer, what many folks fail to understand is that in order for a project to work it needs to make fiscal sense. If the numbers don't work, then you have wasted a ton of effort and money on development. Unfortunately even in the best of times you can't save everything. It is even more trying today now that we are faced with dwindling regional population and financial resources.

Southfield has three closed schools that have been reborn. One is now the Academy of Detroit, one is an office building, one is a community center. This work was done in the 70s. Who knows what will happen in these times?

The Franklin school apartments in St. Louis are now Senior Living Apartments
http://www.franklinschoolapartments.com/
http://www.builtstlouis.net/franklin.html
http://stlcin.missouri.org/devprojec...vProjectID=227

Grant School also now houses Senior Citizens
http://www.eco-absence.org/stl/gra/

Granted, you have to have the demand. But there are uses other than pricey lofts. St. Louis has Federal and State tax credits to rehab historic buildings. Does Detroit have this? I think the tax credits help, but if there is no demand, then there is no demand.

i cannot believe that this discussion has gone this far and no one has mentioned the Burton Theater.

http://www.burtontheatre.com/about/

went there a couple of weeks ago and was completely impressed. and the glass bottle faygo at the concession stand was sublime.

Not every school has to be saved, either. But at least look in the mirror and realize that Cass Tech, at least, at the VERY least, should be saved for future renovation. That area is on the cusp.