In 2019, Jesse Wig, Adam Colucci and Dan Spanovich purchased an abandoned high school in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The trio purchased Bowtie High for $100,000 and converted it into a 31-unit apartment building.
During Bowtie High’s renovation, the school across the street was for sale, so the partners embarked on a second joint project, purchasing Schwab School in October 2020 for $90,000.
“My partners and I really enjoy turning these buildings from nothing into something,” Spanovich tells CNBC Make It. “Schwab was a building that a lot of people in the community had looked at and decided it was simply not feasible. This challenge is truly what drives my partners and I.”
Before the trio purchased the building, it was a craft school named after Charles M. Schwab, an American steel magnate who was born and raised in Pennsylvania. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Schwab Vocational School closed in 1980 and the building has been abandoned since then.
The Scwab School was abandoned for decades before the three partners purchased the property to convert it into a home.
Malhari Media for CNBC Make It
The trio began renovating the Schwab Building in April 2022. Spanovich said the school is in much worse shape than Bowtie High. The project took 18 months to complete.
“When we first entered the building, there were trees growing on the ground floor and water running down the top floor,” Spanovich says. “It was in a deplorable condition and a lot more structural work needed to be done.”
The renovation included replacing all windows and converting the top floor of the building – the school’s gymnasium and auditorium – into eight two-story apartments.
Wig, Colucci and Spanovich went into the project with a budget of $3.2 million and ended up spending about $4.5 million renovating the Schwab school. That amount includes a $3.25 million mortgage and $1.25 million of the trio’s own money.
They were able to recoup $5,000 of that by selling an old pickup truck they found in the basement of the abandoned building.
The partners ultimately spent about $4.5 million renovating the Schwab school.
Jesse Wig/ Adam Colucci/ Dan Spanovich/ Malhari Media for CNBC Make It
Just like at Bowtie High, the trio wanted to take advantage of all the state and federal tax credits available to them. If their application for federal tax credits is approved, the partners will receive around $800,000.
At the state level, Pennsylvania state tax credits are a lottery system, and partners are patiently awaiting the results.
After more than a year of construction, the converted school is now a 33-apartment building with five two-bedroom units and 28 one-bedroom units.
Rent in the building ranges from $950 to $1,450 for one-bedrooms and $1,550 to $1,950 for the two-bedroom apartments.
The new building has 28 one-bedroom apartments and five two-bedroom apartments.
Jesse Wig/ Adam Colucci/ Dan Spanovich/ Malhari Media for CNBC Make It
Since leasing began this spring, the building has been 85% occupied and is generating a profit, Spanovich said.
Since Bowtie High and Schwab School are across the street, the two are sister buildings.
Residents can enjoy the amenities of both spaces, including a double-decker garage, rooftop terrace, basketball court and gym.
Wig, Colucci and Spanovich have no plans to tackle another project together for the time being.
Malhari Media for CNBC Make It
With their second project together now complete, Spanovich says there are currently no plans for the trio to take on another project. “The band is currently on a bit of a break,” he says.
“Something will happen, we just don’t know when.”
Wig has since purchased another school in Homestead and Spanovich has done the same in another part of the state.
Spanovich and Colucci bought a former brewery together and are considering converting the space into apartments.
“The best part is bringing these old buildings back to life,” Spanovich says.
“The feeling you get when you walk into this building, knowing what it looked like before and knowing that people said it just couldn’t be done, and seeing life in the building… It’s the best Feeling of the world.”
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