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- From 1895 to 1988, the Horace Mann School served
the educational needs of the Huntington
community. Since 1989 Horace Mann has sat vacant,
and Huntington Alert negotiated
with the Huntington County Community School Board
for possession of the school. With a roof that
became suddenly and dramatically unstable in late
May of 1996, the School Board decided that Horace
Mann must be razed immediately unless a qualified
developer committed to the project. Huntington
Alert approached Historic
Landmarks Foundation of Indiana (HLFI) to
join in a partnership and take possession of the
school. At the same time, Alert met with
representatives from the Mansur Group,
and Mansur found Horace Mann to be a viable
project for redevelopment into housing for the
elderly. Alert, HLFI, and Mansur
gave a presentation to the School Board in June
of 1996 and succeeded in taking possession of the
property. Alert has now entered into a
partnership with Richard G. Coleman to form
Horace Mann Apartments Limited Partnership.
- The Horace Mann School is a 40,000 square foot,
three story brick building located in a stable
middle income area of Huntington,
Indiana. The project is to rehabilitate the
school, add an elevator, and construct 44
apartments for the low income elderly of the
community. The design provides for a
coin-operated laundry, office, and large
community room in the former first floor
gymnasium, and a new entry through the gym to the
elevator with access to all three floors. The
apartments are being added without
"gutting" (the old classroom walls are
to be left intact as well as the corridor walls.)
As a result of an extensive local market study,
the unit mix was set at 17 studio units, 21 one
bedroom units, and 6 two bedroom units. All
utilities will be included in the monthly rent
with single metered gas, electricity and water.
The
Horace Mann School is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places (under the name William
Street School), and the bell tower gives it
immediate recognition throughout the city. The
building benefits from its generously apportioned
hallways and classrooms which can be smoothly
transformed into apartments. The project
amenities will include an automatic door lock
security system, individual gas forced air
furnaces for each apartment, full sized
appliances, stainless double compartment sinks,
carpet, and mini blinds in all of the large old
windows. The community room in the former
gymnasium will provide room far carry-in dinners,
bingo, holiday parties, anniversaries and
gatherings of neighborhood groups. The school
grounds provide mature trees and landscaping and
plenty of space for off-street resident and
visitor parking.
Horace Mann's proximity to a shopping mall
that includes a grocery store, pharmacy and ATM
along with its location in an established
neighborhood, make it an appealing property for
aging residents. Residents would also be within
walking distance to three different restaurants,
several older churches, and a credit union.
Walking is made easier in the neigborhood because
all streets are lined with well-maintained
sidewalks. Horace Mann is also perceived to be a
cultural and architectural anchor by the
residents of the neighborhood and by community
leaders. Neighbors also favor the development of
Horace Mann Apartments because it would prohibit
the construction of housing that may be
incompatible with the historical quality of the
neighborhood.
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