In 1912, the Charles D. Jacob (Elementary) School was built at the corner of Wheeler Avenue and Camden Avenue in South Louisville, Kentucky.
Due to the number of students and lack of original office space created, an addition was made to the original building in 1932. This addition was built with red brick instead of the traditional white brick that was used in 1912. Thus, the addition always stuck out and appeared odd.
The school also served as a center for neighborhood ministries and activities, serving the surrounding community until it closed in 1991.
Eleven years after the doors shut, in 2012, the school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places; this coming after multiple homeless people had claimed it as their home from 2005 forward, and multiple gangs placed their spraypaint upon its vintage brick.
The abandoned school now rests on a little less than 3.5 acres of land and approximately 52,000 square feet. The property in its current condition is valued at $269,000. The sun has set on Charles D. Jacob School, but the Bywater Development Group looks to bring a new light to the property.
The Bywater Development Group is proposing a comprehensive historic rehabilitation of the building, into an affordable senior housing development.
The Bywater Development Group was on site when we arrived on the morning of February 9th, 2017, and for safety reasons would not let us enter the locked doors and boarded entryways, but did inform us about their plans.
The group plans a complete rehabilitation of both buildings, creating 57 units/apartments for senior citizens, but also a library, computer lab, activity room(s), and general lounging areas. This redevelopment will cost approximately $11 Million and is expected to be completed around November of 2017. Hopefully, we can photograph the complex upon its completion in the Fall.
We have seen it happen over and over again in our exploring of abandoned buildings and properties. Big plans are put into action, the developer moves in, only for things to not go through in the end. Hopefully, this deal is completed and the end result will be more than anyone could have ever dreamed.
Here's what else we captured from the property:
A bench rotting at the corner of the parking lot, near the rear of the building due to weather and insect damage.
The flag pole stands as a piece of rust as the trees have overgrown their previous boundaries.
Moss and mildew climb the wall of the original building.
A bench rests in the corner of the teachers smoking yard and break area, while vegetation takes over.
