Winona’s historic grade school becomes new housing.

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CHALLENGE

Winona’s Central Grade School closed in 2012. The building was considered for housing, commercial, and a variety of other uses by multiple potential developers. The small size of the school made it difficult to find a use that could support the cost of redevelopment, but the Gothic Revival architecture and interior decorative details – including a tile fountain and carved stone plaques – made it a storied building worth reusing. In 2020, the reuse for housing was made possible with federal and Minnesota state historic tax credits.

SUCCESS

New History worked closely with the ownership and design teams to navigate a tight schedule and budget to create 15 units of housing in the historic school building. The historic interior and decorative details were integrated into and highlighted in the housing units and corridors. Even small details, like the original blackboards, were kept in the new residential units.