Imagine stumbling upon a real estate opportunity that’s not just another house or apartment building, but an old high school!
That’s exactly what happened to Jesse Wig.
When he heard about an off-the-market deal for an abandoned school in his hometown of Homestead, Pennsylvania, he was compelled to check it out.
“This is too good to pass up,” he thought.
Now, Jesse wasn’t new to the sight of abandoned schools; he’d seen plenty growing up in Homestead.
But this was different.
This was a chance to take on a colossal investment, and he knew he couldn’t do it alone.
So, he reached out to two pros in the field: Adam Colucci, a 35-year-old real estate investor and audio-video business owner, and Dan Spanovich, a 42-year-old real estate developer and lawyer.
The trio teamed up and, in May 2019, bought the forsaken school, known as Bowtie High, for a cool $100,000.
Their grand vision?
To transform it into a 31-unit apartment building. But as they soon discovered, their initial budget estimates were way off the mark.
They thought $2 million would cover the renovation costs, but the reality was a staggering $3.3 million.
And the financial surprises didn’t stop there.
Colucci told CNBC Make It, “Our biggest concern was how much money would be needed to convert the space.”
This became an even more pressing issue when their bank pulled out of financing at the eleventh hour.
Talk about a curveball!
Undeterred, the partners found another bank willing to give them a $2 million mortgage, which they now pay down at around $12,000 a month.
Pooling their own resources, they slowly but surely began to bring their vision to life.
The transformation was nothing short of magical.
They converted the old auditorium into a cozy resident’s lounge, complete with the original wooden flooring.
They even repurposed old shelves to divide the space into smaller, more intimate areas.
But that’s not all; they also split the gymnasium into two sections—one for free weights and the other for half-court basketball.
The bleachers?
They turned those into handy storage spaces.
One of the coolest aspects of this project was its “historic” edge.
Because they were renovating an old high school, they qualified for historic tax credits from both the state of Pennsylvania and the federal government.
But that also meant preserving the building’s iconic features, like the terrazzo tiles in the hallways and even the original chalkboards.
By October 2021, leasing had already begun—even before the renovations were fully completed.
And guess what?
Within just six months, Bowtie High reached 100% occupancy.
The apartments themselves are a dream, with rents starting at $1,400 for a one-bedroom and $1,600 for a two-bedroom.
Highlights include 12-foot high ceilings that flood the rooms with natural light and spacious layouts like “The Vanderbilt,” which boasts an L-shaped kitchen and a walk-in closet.
As for what’s next for this dynamic trio?
They’re already eyeing another abandoned school property.
When Colucci found out that a school across the street was up for sale but already under contract, he said, “I knew that we needed to have it in our portfolio.”
Lucky for them, that deal fell through, and they snagged the property for $90,000 and a $3.25 million mortgage.
“When you look out of the front windows, that’s what you see, so we could control what we see,” Colucci told CNBC.
So, stay tuned for another jaw-dropping transformation!
Watch this amazing renovation of this old school in the video below!
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