Dan Childers, right, stands with his father Rayburn Childers in front of the former East Ward Elementary school. Childers bought the building for $60,000 in March and is in the process of renovating it into condos. (Lorri Sughroue/McCook Daily Gazette) [Click to enlarge]

Two historic buildings are getting a new lease on life, thanks in part to the efforts of a Florida developer.

Dan Childers of Sebring, Fla., purchased the 80-year old East Ward Elementary school building in March for $60,000 and is in the process of converting the building into seven high-end condos. He has also signed a letter of intent to construct living units on the top two floors of the Keystone Hotel, another landmark building in the community undergoing renovation.

"Getting someone to do the top two floors was key," said Rex Nelson, director of the McCook Economic Development Corp.

Feasibility studies are under way to renovate the six-story apartment building into a technology business center that would include an upscale restaurant and coffee or gift shop on the mezzanine level, with conference rooms, offices and business space on the upper levels.

Childers, who attended East Ward as a first grader, is enthusiastic about the projects. The craftsmanship of the school is what lured him to buy it in the first place, he said, when he purchased the building in March while visiting family.

"You can't buy this kind of construction nowadays," he said of the two-story brick school, constructed in 1931. "It was built to last. This would cost you two, three million to build today."

The condos will be between 1,600 to 2,500 square feet each, starting at $170,000 and built to the owners' specifications, Child-ers said. Two have already been sold and Childers and his wife plan on living in the building for half of the year.

Childers has previously developed a golf course and two subdivisions in Florida and is the owner of Auto Wizard, a national auto detailing business. Using local contractors and materials, a new roof has already been installed, as well as energy efficient windows, updated wiring, plumbing and independent heating units. Extensive landscaping also is planned.

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Much of the building's architectural details will be preserved or reproduced, said Doyle Wineland, project manager, such as lighting fixtures, crown moldings and exposed brick walls. A window-lit alcove facing the staircase will remain, along with a small auditorium.

Even a wall near the principal's office, where teachers wrote farewell messages to the school when it closed in 2004, may be incorporated into the structure somehow, he said.

Registered on the Nebraska National Register, the Keystone Hotel in the downtown area got a boost when Childers signed on to develop the top two floors, Nelson acknowledged. In addition, Childers said he would like to relocate the head office of his Auto Wizard business at the Keystone.

"I'll do what it takes to draw business here," he said. "I want to make McCook a destination for other businesses."

Childers has tentatively set an Open House for the renovated school sometime around Thanksgiving, and will rename the building in honor of his father, McCook resident Rayburn Childers.

"This is a beautiful place with good people, " Childers said, citing the various parks and friendly residents he's met. "And people definitely live here longer. "