Pearl Stephens Village has been a well-known and well-loved Macon landmark for more than 75 years; generations of Macon children were educated at Pearl Stephens Elementary School until it closed its doors in the early 1990’s. The school consisted of the original mission-style building constructed in 1928. A 1940’s addition containing classrooms and a kitchen/cafeteria in the rear of the original building was recently demolished. The building suffered from long-term exposure to the elements and was in very real danger of “demolition by neglect”. In fact, by 2006 and 2007 it was impossible to walk from one end of the original school building to the other; the wooden floors had rotted away in several areas and in many cases had caved in from the rot. 



Recognizing the need to preserve a Macon landmark, Pearl Stephens Partners, L.P. acquired the property in April 2006 for $175,000. In May 2006, the Partnership applied for Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) to renovate the property and in September 2006, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) awarded state and federal LIHTC’s. The tax credits provided the means to address the deferred maintenance and issues of physical and functional obsolescence.

The scope of the project entailed completely gutting the existing 13 classroom schoolhouse building and leaving only the outside shell/façade of the building. New trusses and a new roof were installed as well as new interior wood framing. Each of the 13 classrooms remained as close as possible to the original-sized classrooms and were transformed into 13 new one-bedroom/one bath units. The high ceilings and over-sized windows remained the original size in each of the units and the original building’s curved walls and high ceilings provided exceptional architectural detail. The crown jewel of the building is the grand entrance and original auditorium; these were left intact as much as possible and are now the focal point of the building.

The total construction cost of this transformation was $7,129,322. The total development cost was $10,094,983.

The building’s original lead based paint and asbestos required extensive abatement and removal. The interior demolition required steady and precise attention to detail in order to leave the exterior walls intact.

In addition, the original building did not meet today’s accessibility standards. There was no wheelchair access from the exterior and the stage in the auditorium did not have wheelchair accessibility. These accessibility problems were addressed by constructing a new ramp on the side entrance of the building and installing a chair lift at the rear of the stage. As a result of careful site planning and the use of elevators in the new additions, all 61 units are visitable for persons with disabilities.

For more information on Pearl Stephens Village, contact Bruce Gerwig at Infill Housing, bgerwig@maconhousing.com