The former Johnston Elementary School building in Wilkinsburg will soon be converted into a community and small-business space, pending the approval of a judge Thursday.
The Wilkinsburg School District has agreed to sell the school building to Community Forge LLC. The nonprofit aims to rehabilitate the old the school building and turn it into a center that offers not just offices but an event space, after-school programs, a cafe and more.
“Our goal is to kind of connect the community to some of that new value that’s being created all around Wilkinsburg,” said Mike Skirpan, executive director of Community Forge and a Belle Vernon native.
Community Forge agreed to purchase the building, which has been vacant since 2012 when the school closed, from the Wilkinsburg School District for $225,000, with with an allowance of $12,500 for roof repairs, court documents show. The sale requires the approval of a judge during a hearing Thursday.
Then, Mr. Skirpan said, they hope to close on the Franklin Avenue property by early July, renovate throughout the summer and have a kickoff community event in late September or early October.
“I think people are ready to see a space like that,” Mr. Skirpan said. “So far the reception has been great from the people of Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh.”
Mr. Skirpan, 30, is now finishing his doctoral degree in computer science at the University of Colorado in Boulder and plans to move back to Pittsburgh in August.
Several nonprofit groups and local businesses along with XPOGO, an extreme pogo-jumping company currently based in New York City, have expressed interest in the space, Mr. Skirpan said.
The goal is to reinvent the space and start a community dialogue in an effort to reinvigorate Wilkinsburg, which Mr. Skirpan said was “left behind.”
“Whether or not people like it, Wilkinsburg is going to change over the next decade,” he said, and his organization wants to help make it a positive change and save a century-old school building in the process.
Elizabeth Behrman: Lbehrman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1590.
First Published: June 23, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
