In 2024, former schools were redeveloped into almost 2,000 apartments.
Like office buildings, shuttered schools around the country are seeing new life as apartments, reports Linda Jacobson in Next City. “Data from the Brookings Institution showed that between the 2018-19 and 2021-22 school years, 12% of elementary schools and 9% of middle schools lost at least one-fifth of their students.”
“In 2024, nearly 2,000 apartments were built in former schools across the U.S., a record high and four times the number a year earlier, according to an analysis from RentCafe, a property search website.” According to RentCafe, there are 74 school conversion projects underway in the United States.
This rapidly growing sector is benefiting from a nationwide drop in school enrollment and the closure of schools. In Atlanta, the school system is repurposing eight former school sites into housing, projects which will give teachers the first choice of apartments.
Read the full story: As Enrollment Falls, Old Schools Find New Life as Apartments
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City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority