Englewood's shuttered Charles Warrington Earle School getting new life as affordable apartment community

Developers are kick-starting work to convert the former Charles Warrington Earle School into affordable apartments after the Englewood property was one of 50 schools to close its doors more than a decade ago.

Wisconsin-based Gorman & Co. anticipates the project — with 100% affordable units — will welcome its first residents in December 2025. The developer held a groundbreaking event on Tuesday at the school, 6121 S. Hermitage Ave.

The building is currently getting a new roof, followed by windows, so it can be enclosed before winter. Called the Earle School Apartments, the property will have 50 units and be available to those making 15% to 60% of the area median income. That means the monthly rent could be as low as $315 for a one-bedroom apartment, not including utilities.

Most of the apartments will be one-bedroom units and the remaining 20 will be two-bedroom units.

Earle School Apartments is Gorman’s eighth project in Illinois, said Ron Clewer, Illinois market president. Gorman has completed more than 20 school-to-apartment conversion projects, creating both market-rate and affordable units.

“We knew that in Englewood ... being able to serve those at risk of homelessness, we needed to have 100%-affordable property,” Clewer said.

Charles Warrington Earle School was one of 50 that shuttered in 2013 under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Some of the schools have since been converted into other uses, including luxury, low-income or senior citizen apartments. But a Sun-Times and WBEZ investigation last year found the majority remain unused.

Clewer said he met neighbors at the groundbreaking who came to express support for the project. Six of those individuals were graduates of the school, who still live in the neighborhood.

“There’s always an emotional connection for the community to the building, and when it closes, it’s a bit more dramatic connection,” Clewer said. “The idea of repurposing it and having it come back into their lives and remain in their neighborhood is often exciting for our neighbors.”

The adaptive reuse project is also part historic preservation, Clewer said. Gorman will be renovating the school’s exterior to mirror its original 1897 facade. New windows will replicate the building’s original style, as well as the trim and moldings.

Gorman’s in-house architecture team is working alongside Englewood architecture firm Beehyyve on the project.

Schools built from the turn of the 20th century to the 1950s are ideal candidates for adaptive reuse, Clewer said. Older schools tend to have bigger classrooms, which can be converted into a spacious one-bedroom, two-bedroom or a combination of unit sizes, including studios.

“You're able to utilize the existing classroom space in a very meaningful way that doesn't create a lot of excess or loss ... in the square footage,” Clewer said. “We find schools to be incredibly exciting to repurpose.”

The school had an addition in 1971 and another in 1974. Clewer said the add-ons are less efficient to convert and give the building a modular look. The 1971 addition will be torn down, while the 1974 addition — housing the gym — will remain.

Some of the adjacent gym and cafeteria space will be converted into apartments. The rest, with its taller ceilings, will become a community room, social services offices and property management space, Clewer said.

Gorman is partnering with Chicago-based Phoenix Foundation and Phoenix Recovery Services to offer support to individuals and families with “unique housing needs,” according to the developer.

“This project will ensure not only the creation of quality housing, but the delivery of essential supportive services that empower residents to thrive,” Sherri Allen-Reeves, executive director of Phoenix Foundation, said in a news release. “We believe residents will meaningfully contribute to the Englewood neighborhood, helping to strengthen and enrich the community.”

The conversion is a $33.6 million project, according to Clewer, with funding sources that include state and federal historic tax credits, ComEd, the Illinois Housing Development Authority and Chicago’s Department of Housing.

“The Chicago Department of Housing is committed to projects like these that preserve our city’s rich history and expand opportunities for quality, affordable housing while also providing supportive services,” Chicago Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda said in news release. “We are excited to see this development’s impact on the Englewood community.”