The Butler County commissioners hired a Pittsburgh company Wednesday to prepare a study on the reuse of the former Butler Middle School in Butler.

Commissioners agreed to enter into a contract with Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, the only company that responded to a request for qualifications the commissioners issued two weeks ago.

The cost of the contract hasn’t been determined. The company will prepare a plan for its reuse study and incorporate that into a contract that will include the cost. Mark Gordon, county chief of economic development and planning, was authorized to sign the contract after it is reviewed by solicitor Wil White. The qualifications submitted by the company includes its prices.

The study will include an evaluation of the building’s mechanical system and infrastructure to determine what would need to be replaced and when, Gordon said.

He said the county relies on professional entities for architectural and other services when needed, but developing a reuse plan for an old school building requires specialized experience. The fact that only one company responded to the request shows how specialized the work is, he added.

“The adaptive reuse of a school building is highly specialized,” Gordon told the commissioners.

Pittsburgh Gateways has done similar work in Pittsburgh and Johnstown, Gordon said.

The county will pay for the study with money from a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Butler Area School District, which still owns the building, closed the century-old school building after the 2021-22 school year. The fifth grade will move to other elementary schools, sixth grade will shift to Butler Intermediate High School and ninth grade will move to Butler Senior High School when the 2022-23 school year begins.