A MAN whose daughter bought a huge school for just £30,000 on Facebook turned it into an impressive 16-bedroom property.
Gary Gergley, 63, spent four years on the incredible project, saving thousands with nifty hacks.
Gary’s daughter bought the three-storey school for less than £30,000 in 2019
Kynsey Gergley began the renovations in 2019 before handing the project over to her dad
Many rooms in the building had to be completely renovated to turn it into the home it is today
Facebook/@Canton School of FameOne of the bedrooms post renovation[/caption]
Facebook/@Canton School of FameAnother room in the converted school with a table football and pool table[/caption]
The DIY pro says he “loves” the newly-refurbished building, and claimed it’s “beyond my expectations”.
His daughter Kynsey bought the three-storey school in 2019 for less than £30,000 with plans to turn it into a home and office.
When she got married and moved away, Gary rescued the project and turned it into an incredible home.
The school, built in 1926, saw thousands of pupils through education until the 1980s when it was closed and turned into offices.
Then in 2008, it was abandoned when those using the offices moved.
“In my opinion, they destroyed the building,” Gergley said of the previous owners.
“They glued, stapled, carpeted and took these big rooms and made them into four smaller ones. … The first two years were just tear out.”
The extensive project saw Gergley tear out asbestos, broken windows, walls, carpeting and ceilings.
The structure was rebuilt with security systems and internet added, graffiti covered and original structures restored.
And Gergley managed to save thousands throughout.
He bought an impressive chandelier worth £8,000 for just £950 in New York as he trawled auctions and antique shops for special gems.
He also hired around 30 locals from areas near the school to help him with cleaning, rebuilding, installing tiles and other fixtures.
Gregerly said he helped out the workers in need, buying seven of them a car and helping four of them to get their driving licenses.
He even invited them to them live in the building when they didn’t have anywhere else to go.
He said: “Working with the local people here has probably been the best.
“I lived in a very non-cultural area, so getting to know people in the hood has been great. A thief one day could be a buddy of mine the next day.”
One resident who worked on the project, Crystal Daugherty, said: “It is amazing, it really is amazing”.
Those involved in the innovative project have also kept an eye on it for Gregerly when he’s away.
Local police reports show the previously abandoned building, which usually had at least one or two break-ins each year, hasn’t been flagged on their radar since 2020.
“There has been zero crime in this two-block area,” Gergley said.
“I haven’t had any problems whatsoever.”
Part of the huge building, renamed Canton School of Fame, is used for community events and has room for hundreds of people.
But 16 bedrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms and a game room upstairs maintain the homey feel both Gary and Kynsey tried to achieve.
When the family bought it the building still had an auditorium
Facebook/@Canton School of FameIt was later converted into an event space in one part of the former school[/caption]
Members of the local community were hired to help complete the project
Facebook/@Canton School of FameLocals who helped out were allowed to live in bedrooms in the school, one is pictured here with whiteboards on the walls[/caption]
Thousands of windows were replaced
The outside of the converted schoolFacebook/@Canton School of Fame
Facebook/@Canton School of FameAnother large bedroom in what may have previously been a classroom[/caption]
Facebook/@Canton School of FamePart of the event space in the ‘Canton School of Fame’ available to hire[/caption]
Facebook/@Canton School of FameMusical instruments line the walls in the renovated school[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
