One of the most unique homes to ever hit the Wisconsin real estate market isn't even a house. Well, it is now. But, originally, the building was an elementary school.
Cascade Elementary School in Cascade, Wisconsin, was turned into a single-family home by Richard and Oristela Aguinaga. The couple bought the school in 2016 and used it for Richard's electronics business. Once he sold the company, they decided to sell their home and move into the school. They've been living there for a year.
“I was overwhelmed honestly, like what is my husband doing? Is this a man thing? I don’t know," Oristela Aguinaga said.
“It’s way more homey than you realize just because it kind of reminds you of your old days when you went to school," Richard Aguinaga said.
The last time Cascade Elementary School had students was back in 2010. The school consolidated and sent the students to nearby Plymouth.
Normally with houses, it's easy to identify how many bedrooms and bathrooms there are, or how many cars the driveway and garage can fit. However, with an elementary school, it's not so easy.
The listing said there are 5 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms with 17,000 square feet on 18 acres. The bedroom number could fluctuate. There are 6 distinct classrooms that the buyer could use however they please (the current owners use 5 as bedrooms). There is no garage, but the parking lot is large since it had to fit all the staff and faculty.
Watch the story to see inside this school-turned-home
“I would say that’s probably the biggest adjustment is the distance from one place to the other and having to say, 'Honey where are you?' So we text. We carry our phones with us like where are you," Oristela said.
The home is big with long hallways. There is a bathroom connected to the primary suite, but the owners choose to walk down the hall to get to a larger bathroom instead.
“If you have a situation where you have a bigger family, a growing family, an in-law situation, this is the place for you because it’s super quiet and there’s plenty of space," Richard said.
Many of the school features have remained since they turned it into a house.
If you walk into the front of the school, you can see where the front office and the principal's office are. There is a large gym and a stage right next to it. The kitchen looks like a typical kitchen, but they left the cafeteria serving window for nostalgic purposes.
The wooden floor in the gym was removed but the hoops inside (and outside) are still there. The custodian's room is the laundry area. Many of the signs that say "2nd Grade" or "3rd Grade" are still above the door for each room. The door to the P.E. teacher's office still says "Phys Ed."
When the Aguinagas bought the home, many of the chairs, art, and tables were left behind. They decided to keep those features as decorations. The water fountains don't really work anymore, but they are still hung on the hallway walls.
“So we actually wanted to embrace that and keep some of the cabinets, whatever we could reuse," Oristela said.
This elementary school-turned-home has been on the market for two months.
This story was originally published by James Groh at Scripps News Milwaukee.
