Starling Yard tenants headed back to school

Future tenants of a new local development will walk down former school hallways to reach their apartments, which may even have original chalkboards on the walls.

What's happening: Developer Woda Cooper Companies is transforming a shuttered school building in Franklinton into an affordable housing complex called Starling Yard.

• Historic preservation tax credits and support from Columbus' Affordable Housing Bond Fund are helping pay for the $31 million project.
• City leaders helped celebrate a groundbreaking last week.

Details: Woda plans to create 45 units in the vacant school, plus another 52 inside two new buildings on site.

• Original tin ceilings, flooring and doors will be saved with the redesign.
• The mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom units will be offered for residents earning 30-80% of area median income, with monthly rent of around $400-1,295.

Flashback: The building opened as West High School in 1908 and later became Starling Middle School, which closed in 2013.

• Columbus City Schools sold the building to Woda in 2020 for $1.23 million.
• It appeared on Columbus Landmarks' 2021 endangered buildings list and last year was added to the National Register of Historic Places.