Tiger Senior Apartments

Paris, IL

Historic reuse at the heart of a small town

An unused high school building near the center of the small city of Paris, Illinois, might not seem like a place of opportunity at first glance. But when our client envisioned a redevelopment of the former school into apartments for low-income seniors, WJW was immediately drawn to the project’s potential both as adaptive reuse and historic preservation. 

With graceful historic details, high ceilings, large windows and ample common areas in the form of the gymnasium and auditorium, the building offered inherent possibilities for housing design. As both the figurative and literal heart of the community — the high school had educated many generations of Parisians, and the building is sited in the city center — the project also brought with it a chance to create a substantial contribution to the continuity of the community.

  • The building's entrance, familiar to generations of local residents who attended the school, offers a brilliantly restored welcome.
  • Careful routing of new mechanicals and HVAC system allowed interior spaces to remain largely clear of ductwork.
  • Elements such as a new elevator and ramps are carefully designed to exist within the historic structure and bring added accessibility for aging residents.
  • The gym, once a site of high school basketball games and pep rallies, was restored as a venue for resident social events and to resume its former function by hosting community sports.
  • Fixtures and finishes were carefully selected to preserve the building's historic character while creating necessary amenities for residents.
  • Carefully preserved details such as feature windows and chalkboards create a true sense of place in their newly renovated home.
  • Restored original skylights bring daylight into interior stairwells.
  • New energy efficient windows were installed to precise specifications to fit existing large window openings, satisfying historic preservation standards and fulfilling the overall design intent.

Those assets came with substantial design challenges, however. Accessibility, energy efficiency and adapting the building’s unique footprint to housing units were initial hurdles, further complicated by the pursuit of both LIHTC and federal historic preservation tax credit funding programs. A design perspective that was focused on sensitivity to the building’s historic fabric from the outset helped secure those federal preservation credits, and made the project one of the first to be awarded credits under Illinois’ new state historic tax credit program as well. That additional layer of funding allowed for preservation of many of the building’s more intricate historic details, and thoughtful design brought forward new solutions and materials which bring  the beloved building into the present and enhance the community around it.

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