CASCADE – One of the most extraordinary homes to ever hit the Wisconsin real estate market isn’t even a house. Well, now it is. But the building was originally an elementary school.

Cascade Elementary School in Cascade, Sheboygan County, was converted 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. After he sold the business, they decided to sell their home in Sheboygan and move into the school at 510 Lake Street in Cascade. They have lived there for a year.

“I was honestly overwhelmed and wondered what my husband was doing. Is this a man thing? I don’t know,” said Oristela Aguinaga.

“It’s much more homely than you think because it kind of reminds you of the old days when you went to school,” said Richard Aguinaga.

James Groh

Cascade Elementary School last had students in 2010. The school was consolidated and sent the students to nearby Plymouth.

Usually, it’s easy to figure out how many bedrooms and bathrooms a house has, or how many cars will fit in the driveway and garage, but it’s not so easy with an elementary school.

The listing said there are 5 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms in 17,000 square feet on 18 acres. The number of bedrooms can fluctuate. There are 6 different classrooms that the buyer can use as they wish (the current owners use 5 of them as bedrooms). There is no garage, but the parking lot is large as it had to accommodate all the staff and faculty.

Check out the story to get a glimpse inside this school-turned-residential building

Wisconsin couple converts elementary school into home and offers it for $849,000

“I would say the biggest adjustment is probably the distance from one place to another and asking, ‘Honey, where are you?’ So we text. We carry our phones with us and ask, ‘Where are you?'” Oristela said.

The house is large and has long hallways. There is a bathroom connected to the master suite, but the owners prefer to walk down the hall to get to a larger bathroom.

“If you have a larger family, a growing family, an in-law family, this is the place for you because it’s super quiet and there’s a lot of space,” Richard said.

Many of the school features have remained since it was converted into a residence. If you walk through the front entrance of the school, you can see where the secretary’s office and principal’s office are. There is a large gymnasium and a stage right next to it. The kitchen looks like a regular kitchen, but the cafeteria bar window was left standing for nostalgic reasons. The wood flooring in the gymnasium was removed, but the baskets inside (and outside) are still there. The janitor’s room is the laundry area. Many of the signs that say “2nd grade” or “3rd grade” still hang above the doors of each room. The door to the PE teacher’s office still says “Physical Education.” When the Aguinagas bought the house, many of the chairs, artwork, and tables were left behind. They decided to keep these elements as decoration. The fountains no longer work properly, but they still hang on the hallway walls.

James Groh

“So we wanted to take that into account and keep some of the cabinets, whatever we could reuse,” Oristela said.

The only houses that are really comparable are three churches that have been converted into houses.

This elementary school converted to a residential home has been for sale for 2 months. For more information, contact Pleasant View Realty.

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