With $10,000 currently on hand, the group intends to raise the remainder of its funding privately to rehabilitate the building – total costs are projected to be $173,000. Tenants would be required to have an educational component in their mission and rent is proposed at $11 per square foot. This would create a total of $200,000 in rental fees and income.

The community space is only one option for the old school that the group is considering. They hope to gain public input to learn what the community would like to see happen to the building. Another option, which the Borough Council desires for the site, includes the demolition of the school to make way for an expansion of the nearby fire station and moving the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad into the new structure. The owners of the site, Princeton Regional Schools, will make the ultimate decision.

The adaptive reuse of the building will be a mixed-use project. Nelson Foutch intends to create commercial space on the first two floors and 145 market-rate apartments in the upper floors. In addition to the conversion, a low-rise annex to the tower will be torn down to create an outdoor restaurant area and skywalk access.

The redevelopment does come with an additional incentive for the developer – a 10-year, 100-percent tax abatement package that would equal about $400,000 a year. Time will tell of the abatement incentive will pay off for the community as a whole.

The three-storey massive structure is dotted with broken windows and littered with pigeon droppings inside. There is water damage which has caused the wood floors to buckle and paint flakes to fall from the wooden ceiling like snowflakes. It looks as though it’s been vacant a long time, although the last of the equipment was moved out just a few years ago.

This is Forum’s first entry into a restoration/adaptation project, but as Abboud stated they are “bullish on Hamilton.” The complex was once a fixture and economic engine for the neighborhood and the rehabilitation has the potential of giving it that place again. It will be interesting to see just what the city and HRCC decide to do with the property.

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First – there’s the environmental factor. Thirty percent of the energy used over the lifetime of a building is spent on the initial construction. Reusing a building allows for reduced energy costs for construction (though of course does not mitigate it completely). The demolition of a 5-story building results in 4,000,000 kilograms of landfill waste. This can be diverted by recycling that building and giving it new life.

Secondly – there’s the economic factor. Reusing a building can significantly reduce your construction costs. Bellamy notes that “(m)aintaining the structural system alone can return as much as 25 per cent of the overall cost.”

Thirdly – there’s future planning. A recent concept in new construction is to build with the intention that the structure will live out its initial purpose. This means “incorporating durable materials, flexible layouts and structural systems that allow easy dismantling and reuse.” Bellamy points out that several buildings for the Vancouver Olympics were actually designed to be repurposed after the Games.

Lastly – there’s the social factor. Adapting old buildings can be beneficial to the community. Whether its through creating new housing or providing a new community space, the vacant building finds new life which only adds to the life of the surrounding community.

Bellamy closes by focusing on an adaptive reuse project of an old church in Winnipeg. He hopes that this project will help to provide an innovative example to others in the city when looking at what to do with other buildings that have outlived their lives.

(Re)Developer
The team at Williams Boag Architects (WBa) has expertise in architecture, planning, urban design, and interior design. With a focus on a sustainable future, WBa has handled a number of adaptive reuse projects since their founding in 1975. Some of their adaptive reuse projects include the conversions of the Melbourne GPO Building (post office to retail hub), the Ancient Times House (warehouse to affordable youth housing), and the former Uniting Church (church to apartments).

Outcome
Through the adaptive reuse process, WBa was able to retain the shell of the church as well as the original flooring. Even the original pulpit remains in the new home, moved only about 10 feet. The interior now includes segmented rooms within the large space of the church. A new garage was added separate from the church while a carport was attached to the family room.^[2]

This once community space for worshipping has now been repurposed for the benefit of a single family. While the community may have lost a gathering space, the surrounding area has been strengthened by the retained style and new life of the conversion.