BUFFALO, N.Y. — The former BPS School 78 is now the Olympic Avenue Apartments.
"Every room has something from the original design which is exciting," CEO Andrew Sewnauth of CDS Housing told 2 On Your Side. "So you'll see wood, you'll see chalkboards, you'll see old skylights, everything that reminds you of what used to be, along with what's here now."
The renovation was a five-year process.
"We've added 46 apartments here, so each apartment has its own bedroom, good living space, wifi," Sewnauth said.
Dr. Willie Hutch Jones will soon bring his youth programming and after-school activities here too, including sports, theater, steel drums, and dance.
"It will be open to the community," he said. "We're a community-based organization, so it's just what we do. It's doing it in more places in our neighborhoods."
Masten District Councilwoman Zeneta Everhart says she hopes this can be a model for more affordable housing in the city.
"There's a community space here where events can happen," she said. "They're going to be doing financial literacy and all types of programming for the residents and the community who live in the surrounding area. To see a school building that, you know, spent years and years educating our children and now going to be educating the wider community, that's a beautiful thing. "
So far, 44 of the 46 apartments are leased.