KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 ― Students of Downtown Burlington High School in Vermont, United States are attending lessons at a former Macy’s department store after toxic industrial chemicals were found in the former building and soil during renovations.
Superintendent Tom Flanagan told news agency Associated Press that school officials eyed the empty department store that had been closed since 2018 as officials looked for space where students could attend school in-person.
Architects they spoke to also agreed it was a possibility, added Flanagan.
The building then underwent a US$3.5 million (RM14.5 million) retrofit that was supported by the state.
Partial walls were added for classrooms while keeping some Macy’s remnants, like the sparkly white tile floors, bright red carpeting, and Calvin Klein and Michael Kors signs and a large-scale Levi’s jeans photo on a classroom wall.
The library is housed in the former Macy’s china department, with books displayed on under-lit shelves, while the gym is in a former store's warehouse and is still unfinished.
Officials said despite some challenges with noise because the classroom walls do not rise to the ceiling, everything was in working order.
For now, the district has leased the building for three-and-a-half years while it learns more about the toxic chemicals at the old school, located about 3 kilometres from the department store, and what needs to be done.
Moses Doe, a student interviewed by the agency, said it was weird but cool at the same time to be studying at the department store.
The 15-year-old said he and his family shopped a lot at Macy's before it became his school.
He also said he was getting used to the new space, and the escalators and elevators were nice features.
