Repurposing Vacant Schools

First, it was office buildings and malls. Now, schools are getting into the adaptive reuse game as some shuttered campuses are getting new lives as artist studios, restaurants, housing, and community spaces.

Writing in Smart Cities Dive, Amanda Loudin points to the example of the Bok Building, a former South Philadelphia high school now home to over 200 businesses and nonprofits. “The businesses in the Bok Building employ more than 600 people, 75% of whom live within a mile-and-a-half radius of the site, said Lindsey Scannapieco, managing partner of Scout, the development and design firm behind Bok’s revamping.”

With 755 schools closed in just the 2021-2022 season, these buildings offer a valuable new source of commercial and residential space. However, “A lack of funding and community pushback are some of the hurdles that face school-repurposing projects.” Successful projects have often relied on some combination of private financing to fund renovations.