Bancroft School Apartments

A dynamic partnership including local developers, housing agencies, and the Make It Right Foundation rehabilitated the long-vacant Bancroft Elementary School, constructed between 1909-1922, in Kansas City’s Manheim Park neighborhood. This adaptive reuse project aimed to provide affordable multi-family housing and community service facilities. The rehabilitation painstakingly preserved many of the school’s historic features, including hardwood floors, chalkboards, and built-in cabinets. The full volume of the auditorium and gymnasium were retained and adapted for community use. Using historic architectural plans and a single piece of original molding as a guide, new windows were designed to match the configuration of the original windows while providing significant thermal and energy-saving benefits. This detail alone dramatically restored the historic character of this grand building. A focus on sustainability guided the project to LEED Platinum standards.

Rosin Preservation was hired to list the building on the National Register and to shepherd the project through the historic tax credit approval process. Accordingly, the firm’s role was multi-faceted. Regular meetings with the design and construction team from conceptual planning through completion of construction ensured that the rehabilitation met the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Throughout this $14 million project, Rosin Preservation served as project liaison, facilitating conversations between the owners and reviewers from the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service. The project won the 2015 Preserve Missouri Award.