ORWIGSBURG, Pa. — A building on West Market Street in Orwigsburg has served as an orphanage, an assisted living home, and an adult day care over the past century.
Now it's being turned into an apartment building to help ease the shortage of rental properties in Schuylkill County.
"This is a 75,000 square foot building/ To build this from scratch with new construction, you're probably looking at a $25 million project. And we were basically able to buy this, persevere a perfectly good building that's been around now for nearly 100 years, and economically it makes more sense to refurbish these buildings and fix them up as opposed to tearing them down and paying for new construction," said Bill Metzinger, Metz Properties owner.
While Metz Properties has many renovation ideas in mind, its goal is to keep as many historic elements as possible while giving the building a new purpose.
"The perimeter and the outside, we're looking at keeping the grandeur it's always had. We're looking at repainting, updating landscaping parking areas, and stuff like that, like upgrading lighting. But really, the exterior is going to look very similar, but a lot fresher and updated but still keep the historical feel that it has," said Metzinger.
By working with the Orwisgburg Historical Society, the developer discovered how this building used to be a safe haven for children who lost their parents during the 1918 influenza pandemic or in mining accidents.
The orphanage housed thousands of children over the course of 45 years and closed once foster homes became the norm.
"Let's restore it, let's try to get it back to its original, and then let's repurpose it. Let's use it for something valuable because a building of any sort without inhabitants is useless," said Jenifer Bowen, Orwigsburg Historical Society.
The Orwigsburg Historical Society has been gathering information about the building's history and says people who spent time there as children are pleased with the plan.
"It's like a historical society's dream to have someone besides themselves wanting to preserve and restore the integrity of a building," said Bowen.
Even though they just bought the building last week, Metz Properties has already started construction so they can have the first 20 apartments ready for residents to move in next spring.
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