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Northern Cambria board weighs reuse and sale options for old high school after community group pitch
Summary
A Northern Cambria Community Development Corporation representative urged the board to pursue low‑income housing tax credits to convert the old high school to senior housing; trustees agreed to pursue parallel plans—grant/grant‑partner reuse and marketing the property if reuse proves infeasible.
Vicky Cassil, speaking for the Northern Cambria Community Development Corporation (NCCDC), urged the Northern Cambria School Board on March 3 to explore converting the district’s old high school into housing for older adults using low‑income housing tax credits.
"We had an agreement with [the] Johnstown School District that they would continue to pay all costs for the property," Cassil said, and noted that pursuing tax credits "can take three to four years." She told the board conventional financing in the local market would likely require rents that would be unaffordable to many area seniors without tax‑credit subsidy.
The board’s building and grounds discussion picked up the subject later in the meeting and agreed to form an exploratory committee to pursue both reuse and sale options concurrently. Trustees said they want representation from borough and township leaders, the Cambria County Planning Commission and congressional staff to help identify grants, partners and potential buyers.
Trustees emphasized protecting community access to amenities the district uses, such as the gym, locker rooms and track. Several members warned against committing to a single path too quickly: they asked staff to run parallel plans that would allow the district to preserve needed athletic and community access if funding for reuse is unavailable, while also preparing to market the property if necessary. Board members raised questions about the status and potential expiration of a prior appraisal and the cost of continued maintenance if the building sits unused.
Cassil said NCCDC has previously worked with local districts to seek low‑income housing tax credits and offered to provide contacts from the community development side; she identified Matt Barzac as the NCCDC executive director and encouraged coordination with township officials and the borough planning committee. Board members asked staff to report back with appraisal details and to invite county and congressional representatives to the committee’s work.
What’s next: the board directed staff to reconstitute an exploratory committee, seek community input and return with appraisal and funding‑option updates at a future meeting. No formal commitment was made to sell or to proceed with redevelopment at this meeting.
