Chambersburg's oldest school to become apartments

Another historic school in Chambersburg will serve generations to come as an apartment complex.

The old Mary B. Sharpe Elementary School was sold at auction for $600,000 on Saturday, according to John F. Kohler Jr. of Gateway Gallery Auction.

The building at 850 Broad St. was last used in 2018, 10 years after Chambersburg Area School District stopped sending students there. Built in 1908 by architect Franklin Keagy, who oversaw the construction of hundreds of buildings in the years after Confederate soldiers burned the town in 1864, it was the oldest school in the district.

Previously:Want to buy a school? Historic Chambersburg building to be sold at auction

The winning bidder, Aaron Carmack, of Atlanta, said he and his business partner, local architect Vern McKissick, plan to preserve the structure's early 20th-century charm while building out apartments to suit 21st-century lifestyles. They estimate it will take about two years to complete the project.

“We want to keep the exterior and interior as close to what it currently is but bring it up to date. We plan to restore the outside with the original cornices and big cupola on top of the building,” Carmack said, in a news release. “We want to polish it back to the way it was.”

The building's layout should allow for "high-quality housing opportunities," McKissick told the Public Opinion.

At more than 14,000 square feet, the building as it stands holds eight classrooms, two offices, a library and restrooms. There was no cafeteria; students ate lunch at their desks.

Carmack, who attended kindergarten at the school, said he sees potential in parts of the building that were never finished.

"On the back of (the) building, there are 11-foot ceilings and none of that space was ever finished,” he said, in the release. "There’s really cool things we can do to make it unique.”

First though, McKissick said the priority will be completing the process to get the building on the National Registry of Historic Places. The designation will open the project up to historic preservation tax credits.

The school has been on McKissick's radar for years as parties concerned about its future sought his help in achieving a good outcome. After all, he knows all about redeveloping an old school into apartments.

More:New life begins at historic former school in Franklin County

McKissick led the years-long endeavor to redevelop the old Central Junior High at Queen and Third streets into the Rose Rent Lofts. Additions stitched together over decades were demolished to uncover the 1909 building that was once the original Chambersburg High School. The structure was renovated into 31 market-rate apartments of various sizes and designs. Parts of the old school — everything from chalkboards to the stage of the former music room — are incorporated throughout.

That project was a "monster," McKissick said. The final phase — transforming the 1930 building that faces Queen Street into a hub of corporate and residential spaces — is still a year from completion.

McKissick anticipates the Sharpe elementary project will be easier because, save for a rear addition, it was never updated and was well-maintained by the school district.

"This one will fill a different gap and a different niche in the community," he said.

Share pictures, artifacts and memories

Carmack and McKissick are asking for the public’s help to incorporate the building's past as a school in its future as an apartment building.

“We want to retain as much of it original as we can. If there are people who have pictures inside the classrooms and other effects that could help us preserve it, we will take all the help we can get,” Carmack said. “We do have the original plans, but it would be really helpful if folks can help us with any artifacts that would make this a more complete project.”

To share photos, artifacts or stories, contact Carmack at aaroncarmack1366@gmail.com.