Homeroom Lofts and Draper Lofts Featured in the Times Union 4/23/17 Spaces Section
“Apartments 101: Old classrooms find new life as livable spaces”
For the April 23, 2017 Spaces section of the Times Union, reporter Bethany Bump wrote about local projects where old schools are being turned into apartments and why it is an appealing reuse of the space: “Developers nationwide know the moneymaking potential of such nostalgic attraction by turning old classrooms into apartments while retaining original features like chalkboards, water fountains and classroom doors. They have cashed in on the demand for a bit of old-meets-new aesthetic touch.”
Sunrise Management & Consulting is in the process of turning the old Draper school in Rotterdam into Draper Lofts Apartments (www.DraperLofts.com) and has turned a Sand Lake school into Homeroom Lofts (www.HomeroomLofts.com). Both projects were featured in this article:
In Rotterdam, where work is underway to transform the old Draper High School into loft-style apartments, developers looked past the broken windows, peeling paint and crumbling walls of a school that last housed teenagers in 1986.
They saw instead a historic and beautiful Beaux Arts structure, built in 1913, with original school plaques and detailing. They saw the possibility of tall ceilings, unique floor plans and oversized windows that would offer enviable natural light. They also saw aresidential neighborhood that likely wouldn’t welcome a large commercial project coming into the space.
“This is especially true at Draper — who wants a big boarded-up building or commercial use of that size in their residential neighborhood?” said Jesse Holland, who heads Sunrise Management & Consulting, the developers on the project.
Holland’s company expects to start leasing lofts in early May for occupancy by late summer. When complete, the old school will have 110 apartments, some of which will feature original brick and beadboard walls reminiscent of an old classroom. One apartment opens up onto what was the old school stage. There is even a row of lockers that residents can use.
“For Draper Lofts, it was especially gratifying to be able to take a large, loved building that had turned into a vacant vandalized eyesore and return it to a usable feature of the neighborhood,” Holland said.
His company recently did the same thing with an old Beaux Arts-style school in the Rensselaer County town of Sand Lake. That space opened last year as Homeroom Lofts, with 35 luxury units total. One unit is currently available.
To read the full article, click here or click on one of the images below to visit the Times Union’s online slideshow.
To schedule a showing at Draper Lofts Apartments, please visit www.DraperLofts.com. To schedule a showing at Homeroom Lofts, please visit www.HomeroomLofts.com.
