With remediation work well underway on the Barrett Middle School building in Merion Village, Columbus Underground recently got a look inside the historic building.
Hilary Deason of Casto – the developer of the project along with Homeport – pointed out original features like tin ceilings, large windows, and hard wood flooring. She explained that as a historic preservation tax credit project, everything that’s salvageable will be restored, and items that are too far gone to be saved will be painstakingly reproduced.
That goes for more recent additions to the former South High School building as well, like lockers, classroom bells and water fountains. The plan is to reinstall such items throughout the building, where they’ll serve as unique accents and reminders of the building’s history.
Deason said that nearly all of the interior walls would also be retained, so that apartment floorpans will line up closely with how the original classrooms were laid out.
On the fourth floor of the building – which was originally the high school’s gymnasium and boasts 24-foot ceilings – seven two-story lofts will offer views of the neighborhood. The first floor of the building will have some apartments as well as a rental office and common area for residents.
The renovation of the historic building is only the first of three phases of the project. Construction is scheduled to start soon on six new apartment buildings, each of which will feature attached garage parking for residents. The goal for completing all of the apartments – 52 units in the school building and 52 new units – is summer of 2016.
The single family phase will follow the apartments, but the market will dictate when construction starts on those, according to Deason.
As for Casto’s other adaptive reuse project – the Julian – Deason said that they are pleased to be about half leased on that building even as work continues on all but the sixth floor of the building.
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For more information on the project, including pricing and floor plans, see www.barrettredevelopment.com.
All photos by Walker Evans.