Butler Middle School closed at the end of the 2022 school year and was sold to Pittsburgh Gateways shortly after. Butler Eagle File Photo

Although most of the supplies that were in Butler Middle School have been removed, administrators of Butler Area School District are still awaiting plans from the building’s new owner, Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, before planning a tour of the building.

The corporation, a business management consultant based in Pittsburgh, acquired the building on North McKean Street from the school district for $1 last year, shortly after it closed at the end of the 2021-22 school year. In early October, the school district opened the building to sell what materials were left inside, to make some money from the desks, chairs, filing cabinets, shelves and more.

Brian White, school district superintendent, said at a Monday, Nov. 13, meeting of the school board that among some commemorative plaques and memorabilia the district plans to get out of the building, there are still low-value items left in the school. Many items and pieces of furniture were moved into other schools, but White said the district may leave the items left inside for the next tenant of the building.

White also said Butler County officials have been working with Pittsburgh Gateways on plans for the future of the space.

“The furniture is all removed,” White said of the former middle school. “The county is facilitating design work for the middle school.”

In March, Butler County commissioners voted to give Pittsburgh Gateways a $200,000 grant from the county’s American Rescue Plan Act funds. County officials said the organization will use the money for architectural and engineering work to reuse the old school.

Donald Evans, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Gateways, said in April that the county grant will be used to complete a feasibility study, including the planning and architectural work. Programs that may be run in the building include Independence Health System’s family medicine residency program and Food Institute, and a special education program through the Watson Institute, according to Evans.

Evans also said he hopes the first tenant or tenants of the building will move in sometime in 2024.