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Built in 1908, a former high school in Latah, Washington, is for sale for $699,000.
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The school has been converted into a five-bedroom house with a restored gymnasium and theater stage.
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It is currently owned by a non-profit organization that used it as a halfway house for victims of trafficking.
Perched on top of a hill overlooking the city of Latah, Washington is a former high school home converted, and it is on the market for $699,000.
Known as Latah School or Union High School, the entire property sits on a 1.43-acre lot in Latah, Washington, per the list.
The main building was built in 1908 and is one of the “oldest, largest, and best preserved brick country schools in the agricultural Palouse region of southeast Spokane County,” according to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The last batch of students graduated in 1958, and the school became a space for community events and town meetings, according to the NRHP. The property was finally vacated in 1961 and has changed hands several times since.
The building is now owned by HRC Ministries, a nonprofit organization that uses the space as a halfway house for victims of trafficking, listing agent Connie Newman told Insider.
HRC Ministries was originally founded in 2015 as an outreach ministry, but over time evolved into an anti-trafficking organization, according to your website.
The old school building was used as a safe house where women who survived the trafficking could live, Jennifer Tillotson, director of development for HRC Ministries, told Insider.
The property was a place where they could receive counseling and learn new skills to reintegrate into society, he added.
“We originally purchased the property because of its rural location and large living spaces,” Tillotson said.
The two-story Latah School spans 15,880 total square feet, according to the listing.
“Because we work with survivors of trafficking, we thought having a place to kick back and relax while having a big room to themselves would be great for their recovery,” Tillotson said.
The organization purchased the Latah School building in 2019, according to listing history. They first listed the property for sale in March 2022 for $749,000 before lowering its price to $699,000 in July.
Homes in Latah, Washington have a median listing price of $450,000, according to data from the real estate platform realtor.com.
The $699,000 former school is the only single-family home for sale in the area. The other three active listings are for land and their prices range from $30,000 to $175,000, per realtor.com.
HRC Ministries is selling the Latah School as it has decided to move the shelter closer to the city.
The property is located about a 45-minute drive from Spokane, a major city in the state of Washington, for google maps.
“We underestimated the number of women who were going to need emergency services on a daily basis, so we needed to move closer to the city,” Tillotson said.
Latah School has five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and two large family rooms that were once classrooms.
The property has undergone renovations in recent years, most of which was completed by the previous owners who converted the space into a family home and rental wedding venue, real estate agent Newman said.
“During our ownership, we kept everything as it had been left by the previous owners, including World War II items from the basement,” Tillotson said. These include medical supplies, dry food, and other emergency items.
HRC Ministries also completed some structural renovations, including the installation of a new roof and a sewer line, according to the listing.
The gymnasium was added to the main Latah School building in 1920. It was restored in 2000, with painted walls and a restored solid maple floor.
A basketball hoop is located at one end of the gym, while the other end is a theater stage.
“The ladies used the gym to de-stress and bond with the staff and each other by working out, playing basketball and listening to music,” Tillotson said.
It was also a space for them to have fun and sing out loud, he added.
Due to the property’s zoning license, future owners can live on it or use it for commercial ventures, such as short-term rentals, Newman said.
An ideal buyer would be someone who would take into consideration what the community and the surrounding area might need, Newman said.
“It will be someone who will appreciate that building, take care of it and maintain it as a prosperous property in that area,” he said.
It has also fielded inquiries from various stakeholders who are considering opening the gym for school proms, as well as community events and gatherings, he added.
“This property helped fulfill our mission because it was a place of peace that the ladies could escape to,” Tillotson said.
“It was even hard for some to accept that it was worth the cost to live there because of the great look and feel of it and what they were coming out of,” Tillotson said.
Since most of the women came from lives where they had been battered for years, the property allowed them to feel safe, valuable and special, she added.
Read the original article at Well-informed person