Unneeded Mount Vernon school becomes community asset

There's a sauna in the old art room and an AFLAC agent in the principal's office.

The old Mount Vernon Middle School building on First Street may look the same from the outside. But these days, the inside of the old school building is teeming with entrepreneurial spirit.

Former Mount Vernon Mayor Rick Elliott and his wife, Trude, moved their Elliott's Uptown Fitness Center into the building about three years ago after the school had moved into new facilities. They have since acquired the building and renamed it the First Street Community Center.

Elliott had served as a former baseball and wrestling coach in the school system in addition to running Mount Vernon Construction, a waterproofing business. He had previously served as mayor of Mount Vernon. He knew the schoolhouse would become a liability if it wasn't converted to a different use after the school abandoned it and lobbied the Mount Vernon City Council to acquire the building and convert it to a community center.

Elliott, 61, felt Mount Vernon needed a community center. As a former mayor of the city, he was a voice the city council could not easily ignore. But after a year, he realized he was beating his head against a brick wall.

“I understand,” he said. “They just didn't have any money. So I just did it myself and, fortunately, my wife decided to help me.”

The Elliotts knew the building's potential well from leasing several rooms for their fitness center, and set about painting rooms and weatherproofing old windows.

By keeping rents low, they managed to quickly rent out most rooms. There are two antique shops, two massage therapy studios, two photography studios, an attorney and a dance studio. There are also oodles of instructors who rent classroom space to teach everything from driver's education to Pilates.

Tenants love the old building.

Denise Benesh moved her Personal Touch Embroidery business to the community center from Cedar Rapids, in part so she could be closer to her Mount Vernon home, which is walking distance from the school. Loud dance music echoes through a former science classroom while she keeps close watch on a computerized embroidery machine that personalizes apparel.

“It's comfortable and a lot of very nice people are in the building,” she said. “It's close to my home. It's where I belong.”

Artist Robert Schueler recently took up residence on the second floor, where he's helped coordinate art exhibits that liven up the hallways and even the second-floor restrooms.

“Rick and Trude are the greatest,” Schueler said.

The Elliotts have returned the library space into a library again, with books donated by the community. Parents use the space to socialize while their children are in classes, and children use the space to study while waiting to be picked up.

The school's gym and auditorium were left intact for community use and attract a group of regular users from Cornell College sports teams to community theater groups.

The Elliotts' only financial objective for the community center is to break even.

“Once we get everything set up and self-sustaining, we'd like to set up a foundation and have the community take over the operation of the building,” Elliott said.