Renovations are underway at the former McKinley School in Manitowoc as a local non-profit looks to restore the 130+ year old building and give it a purpose again.
The property on the 1000 block of Huron Street was constructed in 1892 and was known as Luling School. It was actually designed by Christopher Tiegan, the same architect who designed the Manitowoc County Courthouse. At the time, childhood education was not required in the state of Wisconsin, so Luling School served as a small neighborhood ward school. But 15 years later, Wisconsin lawmakers changed the law, so Luling became a compulsory school.
It was also the birthplace of Lakeshore College. The classes were held in the lower level of the school building from 1913 until 1920, when the school moved out, eventually landing in Cleveland.
Young students were taught inside the walls of the school until 1977, when, due to families moving to newer neighborhoods and declining birth rates, the building transformed into the School District’s office building. The MPSD eventually left the building, and in 2024, it was purchased by a group known as The Neighborhood.
This organization is a collaborative effort between The Manitowoc Warming Shelter, Hope House, The Haven, and other key community partners, who had a goal of restoring the building and using it as transitional housing. While from the outside it may seem as though very little has been happening, Pastor Matt Sauer of The Neighborhood tells SeehaferNews.com that in fact, a lot of work has been going on inside, including the clearing out of old classroom equipment.
This includes “Desks, teachers, desks, all sorts of stuff,” as Sauer explained. “We’ve had volunteer groups in and out of here clearing that stuff out. We’ve had folks pulling out other things that were attached to the walls.”
But he also noted that there is some progress that can be seen by pedestrians and motorists passing by.
“We are taking all the bricked-up windows from the 1980s, all those window openings, knocking those bricks out,” Sauer revealed. “If you drive by now, you’ll be able to see that. I mean, most of it’s plastic sheeting right now, but just no one has seen that view since the late 1970s.”
Sauer joked that he is grateful the brick layers “did a bad job” by not integrating the new brick with the rest of the building, so the removal has been relatively easy.
The renovation process has been quite an experience for the volunteers, as many of the building’s secrets have been uncovered.
“In a closet, there were some NRA-stamped B.B. guns when that was a normal part of school,” Sauer recalled. “And just, of course, just some of the older style fire alarm systems, the blackboards that sometimes had just been drywalled over things. On the floor…when carpets were pulled up, you can see where the old desks were literally mounted to the floor, and the finish on the floor is worn off where the kids’ feet would scrape against the floor.”
Those who wish to come help with the renovations, or who just want to see what has been done, are invited to an event on May 20th, starting at 4:00 p.m.
“This is the formal kick-off for the renovations,” Sauer explained. “We will go up one of the upper floors and actually have an opportunity to help remove some of the bricks from those bricked-up windows. We’ll have some architectural renderings and some floor plans. We even hope to have a few 3D video models.
The end goal for the project is to create 36 affordable and transitional housing units on the three floors of usable space.
The tenants would already be on their path to sobriety, recovering from an economic catastrophe, or a wide array of other reasons they ended up homeless, as they must be active members of the other organizations.
“It’s been an educational place. It’s still an educational place,” Sauer said. “We’re letting in the individuals who will live here are in that process of learning how to take control of their life again from whatever might have happened.”
The Neighborhood is receiving a 40% tax credit on the building, 20% from the state and 20% from the federal government, thanks to the fact that the building was listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places in 2025.
If all goes to plan and money falls into place, Sauer estimated an opening date in June of 2028.
