Awards of Excellence:

Murray Hill School

In 2009, the USD 413 merged four of its elementary schools to create the Chanute Elementary School. As a result, schools like the 1951 built Murray Hill Elementary School stood vacant. With 30,580 square feet available on a 4-acre site, it did not stand vacant for long. With its Mid-Century Modern  simplistic original concrete panel shell still in great condition, the development team took hold of the defining concrete shell and glass block over hopper sashes, to create naturally lit living units. Main corridors were maintained and living units were planned within existing bays. The Gymnasium took advantage of modularity by dividing the large space into two living units and a community room along the underside of the pointed arch trusses. Non-historic features, such as the walk-in freezer on the north side of the Gymnasium have been removed to coincide with the Modernist structure

Federal and state historic preservation tax credits were utilized to fund this rehabilitation.

The project team included Foutch Brothers LLC, Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, Midwest Housing Equity Group, Horizon Bank, Federal Home Loan Bank, National Funding Incorporated, City of Chanute, Historic Preservation Partners and Rosin Preservation LLC.