Awards of Excellence:

Central School Apartments

Central School Apartments LLC led this sensitive rehabilitation of the former elementary school building into apartments. The plan is very sympathetic to the existing layout, generally inserting a new apartment into each classroom, retaining the existing classroom entries and original demising walls. The gymnasium was retained as a communal area, which preserves the historic open volume of space. Many of the historic finishes were retained, including glazed tile walls in corridors and stair halls, terrazzo stairs and historic railings, and original classroom built-ins, doorways and doors. New finishes complement the mid-century character of the school. The historic acoustical tile ceilings were restored in many of the classrooms. Hardwood floors in were restored. This project preserved an important community asset while providing much-needed middle-income apartments in the heart of Atchison.