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Illinois School Board Journal
July/August 2002

Once a school, not always a school

by Linda Dawson

Linda Dawson is IASB director of editorial services and Journal editor.

Their halls once rang with the sound of school bells and children's voices. But whether because of new construction at a different location, declining enrollments or consolidation that left a vacant building, some school districts find themselves with excess facilities.

What happens to district buildings when they aren't needed to house students? The outcome can be a school board's shining legacy ... or its worst nightmare.

Unless the building is under consideration for historic designation, information about what happens to surplus school facilities may be lost to anyone other than the district and its community. But the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency sometimes hears about the best ... and worst ... of the outcomes.

Mike Jackson, IHPA's chief architect, said districts sometimes convert an older school building into administrative offices. But more often, such buildings are sold at auction, possibly with unintended consequences.

By using an auction, "often they don't get much for what they have invested," Jackson said. If few people show an interest in the building, it may be sold for a ridiculously low price, especially considering the amount that may have been invested in maintenance over the years.

"Consistently, they don't get a good return on their dollar," he said.

And then there's the problem of what someone may want to use the building for, especially if they only pay a small sum.

Without strong zoning ordinances, Jackson said, when a school sells a building, it can be used for a number of purposes that may not be appealing to the community. A building in DuQuoin that sold for $500 wound up being used for equipment storage.

Considering the memories and strong attachments that may be tied to a school, "that's a sad thing for everybody," he said.

But not all buildings meet a sad fate. Some find new life, either at the hands of community organizations or developers.

One such facility is the Community Crisis Center in Elgin. Built originally as a school in 1891, the imposing four-story structure was sold to CCC in 1987. The Center currently operates as a 24-hour social service agency, assisting individuals and families dealing with domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness and other life crises.

Lisa Sampson, facility coordinator, said the crisis center actually purchased the building from a church, which had acquired it from the school district a few years earlier. The district had been using the facility for auxiliary office space, she said, so the transition for some of their office space was an easy one. Other areas were remodeled to accommodate living spaces and child-care needs.

"There's a wonderful sense of security about the building," Sampson said of the facility that she compared to a fortress. "People feel safe here."

With up to 85 people on staff and clients that number 6,500 a year, this former school is being maintained ... and improved ... as a useful community structure. An Illinois First grant to restore the building's windows to their historic form is just part of a $2.5 million renovation campaign that will expand the agency's usable space into the attic.

Another use for school buildings is their conversion to residential use.

Jackson said a number of one-room schools were converted to single-family dwellings, mostly by the 1960s. Larger buildings in a number of areas have been converted to apartment complexes.

In Belvidere, the former high school was purchased by MetroPlains Properties of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the company pursued historic designation for the complex of four buildings that date from 1893, Jackson said.

In nominating the buildings for the National Register of Historic Places, MetroPlains said the school complex provided "locally significant examples of Classical Revival/Prairie School and Art Deco style buildings." The complex was certified as meeting National Register criteria in June 1997.

Jackson said MetroPlains "conscientiously" looks for historic buildings to develop into residential complexes. In the case of Belvidere, even the gymnasium was converted into living space -- loft apartments that have proven so popular the developer wishes he had more.

Central High School in Galena, which dates from 1906, faced the wrecking ball until a developer stepped in and converted the building to condominiums, Jackson said. With its location high on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River, the red brick structure is part of a larger historic district and helps maintain a sense of community identity, he said.

A similar conversion to residential space is planned for the former Roosevelt Middle School in Decatur by a Florida-based developer, Finlay Properties Inc. Roosevelt school also is on the National Register. Jackson said other residential conversions have been done in East Dubuque, Jacksonville, Lemont, East Dundee and Paxton -- and those are just the buildings his agency knows of because of their historic designations.

And while there may be other uses, another group of schools has found new life as just what they are: historic buildings.

One such building is Hamilton Primary School in Otterville. Jackson said the building, which recently received a grant for a new roof and to repaint the cupola, combines a commercial site for the county's historical society with historic offices. The second floor is being restored for a genealogical/historical library, with rooms to show how a 19th century school might have looked.

The school, built in 1835, has a very unique history, Jackson said. It was financed through the estate of Dr. Silas Hamilton, a physician and abolitionist who wanted to fund "free and integrated primary school." The structure represents "the only stone Italianate school in Jersey County and the only stone building in Otterville," according to the National Register nomination form.

But even if older schools receive historic designations, it often becomes impossible to keep track of what happens to these buildings. Jackson has a list of schools in Cook, Kane, DuPage, Rock Island and Kankakee counties that his agency has lost track of over the years. Their status is now just listed as "unknown."