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Work on the 1921 building is set to begin this summer and wrap up next spring. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
A local architect is helping remodel the historic Springfield High School into apartments. The building on Mill Street will add more housing to a residential area four blocks north of the city’s downtown.
“This is the last schoolhouse building of this type that’s left here in Springfield,” said Jenna Fribley, an architect at Campfire Collaborative in Springfield, the firm leading designs for the project. “It’s important to try to save it and make it viable again.”
The building at 525 Mill St. was constructed in 1921 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Springfield School District used it as a high school and middle school until the 1960s, according to the historic register application sent to the National Park Service in 2023.
In 1964, the district renovated the building into administrative offices, which remained there until 2017, when the administration moved near City Hall. The district shuttered the old school at that time, and Red Cedar Capital Partners in Eugene bought the building in 2022.
“I’m very enthusiastic about preservation and adaptive reuse, so they reached out to me,” Fribley said.
Before selling it, the school district considered demolishing the building, which contained lead paint and asbestos. Fribley said the building owners hired an environmental contractor that performed extensive abatement on flooring and ceiling tiles throughout the building.
The concrete structure, finished with painted stucco, is built in the Classical Revival style. An arch tops the school’s entrance and columns flank both sides of the entryway. According to the historic register application, the building retains most of its original double-hung wood windows.
The building will be turned into 40 apartments, with one ADA unit, two two-bedroom apartments, 19 one-bedroom units and 18 studios, according to the architectural plans for the remodel. The renovation will also install a common laundry space, bathroom and lounge, as well as interior bike storage.
The project also includes making seismic improvements to the building.
Construction will begin this summer and is anticipated to wrap up next spring. Fribley said she couldn’t project the rents, but the apartments will be rented at market rate.
The renovation will cost roughly $6 million, Fribley said. The project has qualified for a Historic Tax Credit because the building is on the historic register. Fribley and her colleagues are also applying for grants that could help pay for restoration of the 122 original wood windows.
Fribley said a detached shop building built in 1938 will also be part of the project, though construction is not slated to begin on that structure yet.
Two large maple trees historically stood in front of the school. The trees toppled over in 2023, Fribley said, and she saved some of the helicopter seeds.
The school is in a neighborhood near the city’s downtown. Fribley said the area will benefit from current roadwork on Mill Street, which includes new pedestrian crosswalks and bike lanes.
“Ultimately, it’ll impact us in a very positive way, because this is going to be so refreshed,” Fribley said.
The project is reminiscent of the Lincoln School Condos at W 12th Ave. and Jefferson Street in Eugene. The Lincoln School building was constructed in 1924 and used by the school district until the 1980s, the website for the condo building states.
