Property

Huss School

The property we've purchased as part of the Imagining Space campaign is the historic Huss School in Three Rivers, Michigan. Located on four acres of property, Huss School is a two-story brick school building with 22,000 square feet of space. Throughout the twelve classrooms and additional spaces--including a gymnasium, a library and a newer office addition--are original doors, woodwork, wood floors, chalkboards and large windows.

Huss School is exciting as a potential space for a number of reasons. The sheer size of the building and surrounding property provide an opportunity to live into abundance, with resources for many collaborative opportunities and types of spaces, from residential to public. Locating our projects where Huss stands also provides an opportunity to serve a neighborhood that's been decentralized by the loss of its elementary school, along with other social and economic forces over the years.

Though the building has been slated for demolition at several points in recent history, it's in remarkably good shape and was in active use until just a few years ago. In addition to cosmetic renovation for *cino's custom uses, the building is in need of a new heating system and windows. The current boiler system, combined with single-pane aluminum windows, is not just financially unsustainable, but also environmentally unsustainable. That's bad news in a way, but we see these immediate needs as an opportunity to model conscious energy choices to the community and make a positive impact on the local ecosystem.

The school is located just a mile from downtown Three Rivers and one block from the Circle Line, a new public transit opportunity offered by the St. Joseph County Transportation Authority. The neighborhood is residential, with undeveloped wooded land to the southeast of the school property.