Celadon Holdings has been cleared to begin a $15 million conversion of the vacant West Pullman Elementary School into 60 affordable apartments for seniors.
The affordable housing developer bought the Far South Side building from Chicago Public Schools for $100,000 last year, four years after the district shuttered it alongside 49 other public schools, according to WTTW.
The company unveiled its proposal in March for the 124-year-old bricking building at 11917 South Parnell Avenue, and two months later the city granted it landmark status, giving the developer access to federal tax credits.
Former JP Morgan executives Scott Henry and Thad Garver founded Celadon in 2008. They have partnered with architect UrbanWorks and affordable housing developer A Safe Haven Foundation on the West Pullman redevelopment.
Celadon has used low-income housing tax credits to help build or maintain hundreds of affordable apartment units across six states.
Chicago Public Schools has been putting its portfolio of closed schools up for sale in waves since the 2013 mass closings, auctioning off some to private operators while converting others into city facilities. More than half of the buildings remain vacant.
The district also announced a new round of planned capital improvements this year for its existing schools, and last month permits were issued for nearly $30 million of renovation and construction work on two public schools.