Housing projects revitalize former schools in Mid-Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Three former schools in Mid-Missouri are expected to see their classrooms filled again through adaptive reuse projects that focus on restoring historic buildings for new uses, specifically housing.
"I love old buildings," said Sandy Hisle, co-owner of Marshall Tower Realty. "New construction is beautiful, and it's super energy efficient and all of that, old buildings, they just have that character."
Hisle is no stranger to restoring properties. Previous projects included the Tower Realty office, a former 1930s car dealership, and the Tower Extended Stay Suites, a 1950s motel. Now she’s turning her attention to the former Benton Elementary School.
Hisle’s project is not the only former school being reimagined in Mid-Missouri. The Carver School apartments in Fulton have already been completed, while the Tannehill Apartments in Moberly are expected to finish soon.
Adaptive reuse projects have been on the uptick nationally, with RentCafe reporting nearly 25,000 apartments added through adaptive reuse projects in 2024.
Doug Ressler, senior analyst and manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, expects the number of adaptive reuse projects to increase as underused office spaces tied to hybrid and remote work meet growing housing needs.
The Benton school on South Ellsworth Avenue in Marshall was built in 1922 and was used as
a school until it closed in May 2025, after a new school was built. Marshall Tower Realty purchased the property that summer.
The project is expected to create 17 apartments and turn the cafeteria space into a rentable commercial kitchen. Hisle predicts the project will cost $60,000 a unit, not including the overall building infrastructure.
"The walls are basically built where each one has a block and brick walls that go all the way to the ceiling," Hisle said. "This building was built to be here a long time."
The Tannehill Apartments on North Johnson Street in Moberly is a 1930s-era school building that housed Moberly junior high and high school classes. It was last used in 1977. The project is overseen by ND Consulting Group and the Northeast Community Action Corporation, which used public money to finance construction in 2020.
The project initially was expected to cost around $14 million, later upped to $22 million. The apartments are set to open on March 19 with 40 affordable housing units for residents 55 and older.
The Carver School Apartments hosted a grand opening in December 2025. The building is located on
Westminster Avenue in Fulton, and was a partnership between MACO Management Company, Inc. and the George Washington Carver School Cultural Center Board. It was built in 1937 as an all-Black school until it was integrated by the Fulton Board of Education in 1970.
The school was last used for Fulton Public Schools' sixth-grade class, closing in 1982. MACO was contacted about the project by the board in 2018, and closed on financing and bought the property in 2024.
The construction cost around $8 million. The completed building has 33 affordable housing units, also focused on seniors.
"It seems like the school buildings work a little better." said MACO Management Company President Jason Maddox. "Just because of the similarity in size."
After a property is picked and purchased for renovations, work can begin. Projects often see delays in the permit and funding process, though.
Both the Tannehill apartments and Carver school apartments rode out delays in funding. The Tannehill apartments shifted through various plans for around 20 years before partnering with ND Consulting Group in 2020. The developers were later able to secure a $2.6 million home loan from the Missouri Housing Development Commission, and roughly $10.5 million in federal and state low-income housing tax credits and investments from Midwest Housing Equity Group and Monarch Private Capital.
The Carver school was put on pause in 2019 due to the pandemic. The search for funding started in 2021, with the project getting two tax credit applications rejected. Developers later landed $8.2 million in federal housing credits, $3.7 million in state housing credits and $766,000 in federal historic tax credits.
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