Three men have been talking about them since they bought an abandoned secondary school, in order to transform it into a real apartment building.
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Jesse Wig, 34, got the ball when he saw a disused Pennsylvania high school up for sale for $100,000. He had in mind to transform the establishment.
Screenshot | CNBC
The businessman was immediately put in contact with a real estate investor to discuss the future of the building.
“I was briefed on the school, and to be honest, they didn’t know what to do with the building. But at this price, we had no choice but to buy it,” Jesse told the channel. CNBC.
For two years, Jesse Wig and Adam Colucci thought about transforming it into rental rooms, or even into workspaces.
“We had big ambitions for the school. After two years of reflection, all the professionals in the field told us to build housing inside”, raises Adam for his part.
BEFORE AFTER
Screenshot | CNBC
One of these professionals, Dan Spanovich, enabled them to bring the project to fruition. He specializes in the development of residential properties.
He warned the two men that the transformation of the school establishment was not going to be easy.
“Old buildings like this can be difficult to retrofit. We were willing to take risks, regardless of the cost,” Dan said.
After several months of hard work, the school was converted into several modern apartments, equipped with several appliances. They were appointed by the company C Norman.
The secondary school has an area of 50,000 square feet (15,240 square meters), enough to accommodate at least 31 housing units.
Screenshot | CNBC
For now, the transformed building has 27 3 1⁄2 apartments as well as 4 4 1⁄2 apartments.
According to the owners, all of the apartments were rented out in six months. Unit prices vary between 1400 and 1650 US dollars per month.
Screenshot | CNBC
In an interview, the three entrepreneurs confirmed that they had purchased another school in August 2020, for the modest sum of $90,000.
However, major renovations are needed for this school, especially at the level of the roof.