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"Oh dear, what a mess it was," said Gefke, a local historian who spent her grade school years at the 1922 building before graduating in 1947. "It was in pretty bad shape."

Today, the beloved building near the corner of East Grove and Main streets has been transformed. Gorman and Company, led by president Gary Gorman, is putting the finishing touches on a $3 million-plus renovation, and this weekend about 40 employees will begin the move from their former headquarters on S. Park Street in Madison to Oregon's downtown.

Since last summer, Gorman's company, which specializes in historic renovations, has turned a "leaking, rotting, molding" space into a modern gem that retains much of the flavor of the old schoolhouse, said Arlan Kay, an Oregon architect and member of the Historic Preservation Commission.

"It's going to be quite an asset to the community," said Kay, who in 2003 proposed to turn the building into a community gathering space - one of many ideas that failed to gain traction over the years. "Gary's done a wonderful job."

Oregon Institution
The Red Brick, named for its contrast with the late-1800s "Yellow Brick School" that used to stand near it last served as a high school in the mid-1960s. It housed some elementary classes until 15 years ago, but since then, it's been a storage space for the Oregon School District.

Gorman, who lives in Fitchburg and has kids in the Oregon schools, first checked out the Red Brick about 15 years ago after getting a call from Gefke. Back then, he decided the building wouldn't work as a commercial space.

But a couple years ago, he was driving by and got a new idea. "His business, which builds and manages apartments and condominium projects, was outgrowing its Madison headquarters and needed a new home.

Seeing the Red Brick, "I thought, 'Man, I wonder what they did with that building?'" he said.

The answer was "not much." Over the years, the school's fate often seemed uncertain as the OSD had opted not to renovate it and other proposals - including a 2004 plan to convert it to apartments - fell by the wayside.

But the building, which was placed on the National Historic Register of Places in 1998, still meant a lot to many Oregon residents who attended school there or had kids who did.

"There was a point when we thought we'd lost it," Gefke said. "And then Gorman came along."

In 2006, Gorman's proposal was selected over another from local businessman Ray Mandi, whose high-tech company has since relocated to Madison.

Gorman bought the Red Brick from OSD for $29,000 bringing it onto the village property tax rolls for the first time.

Construction started late last summer and Gorman hoped to wrap up work in seven months. Thirteen months later, he admits with a smile that those projections were too optimistic.

Gorman said he usually avoids getting sentimental about his projects, but the Red Brick has been different.

After all, it will be "home" for his company, which also has offices in Milwaukee and Miami, Fla., and employs about 170 in all.

Instead of a bare-bones renovation, the Red Brick's makeover blends new and old in a way that drove up Gorman's initial budget of $2.3 million.

"I have blown our budget and it's nobody's fault but mine", Gorman said.

Outside, the signature red brick facade is still there, but so are new, custom-made windows that were pre-approved by federal, state and local officials, a requirement that comes with the Red Brick's status on the Historic Register.

Inside, the building also blends old and new. The original maple floors are refinished, and roughly a dozen old chalkboards once used in the school still grace the walls.

Likewise, maple cabinets that used to store teaching supplies are now ready for Gorman employees to use.

On the other hand, near the main entrance, three wall-mounted flat-screen televisions will display digital images of current Gorman projects as well as a slide show of the Red Brick's past.

All the mechanical systems are new, and a second-story room is equipped to host video conference with clients around the world, Gorman said.

Gym Still a Gym
Most notable, however, is the old gym. The 2,500 square-foot space could someday be used for an expansion, but for now, it's still a basketball court, complete with glass backboards and six-foot-wide lanes under the hoops, the regulation width back when the school was built, Gorman said.

Gorman, whose family roots to the Fitchburg farm near Whalen and Fish Hatchery Road go back to the 1850s, said his father once watched Gorman's great uncle play basketball in the gym in the 1930s. Starting next week, his employees will play pickup games during lunch or after work.

Near the gym floor, the former stage is still there, but now it will hold lunch tables. Up a short flight of stairs is a juke box and more tables modeled after a 1950s diner.

The diner, basketball court and other "whimsical touches" weren't cheap, Gorman admits, but they do serve a larger purpose.

"In our business, to be successful you have to attract and retain talented people," he said. "Part of that is having an interesting and fun place to work."

"Alive Again"
To do this project, Gorman got a big boost from the Village of Oregon, which took out a loan on behalf of Gorman, who will return the costs via annual rental payments that start at $178,000. He'll also be rebated about $680,000 in tax payments as part of a tax incremental financing agreement with the village.

The Red Brick's historic designation also qualifies it for federal tax credits worth 20 percent of the renovation costs, Gorman said.

But to earn that, he notes, they had to comply with stringent guidelines that ultimately drove up costs.

The complicated financing package is not abnormal for Gorman, a former lawyer whose company often utilized low-income tax credits to help build and manage affordable housing projects. And the project is small potatoes compared to some of the company's current endeavors, including a 239-unit apartment project in Milwaukee, a $20 million mixed-use development in Racine, and an affordable-housing complex in an area of Mississippi decimated by Hurricane Katrina.

"It's not the biggest project we've done," Gorman said. "But it's been the most fun."

For Gefke, Gorman has been a godsend. After years of fearing that the old school may be demolished and made into a parking lot, she said she's excited to see it's future secured.

"He's restored it beyond any expectation," she said. "I don't know how we could have been so lucky."

Gefke said the class of 1947 will hold their 60th reunion Nov. 3 at the grand opening.

But beyond that event, she's glad to know that the Red Brick is again a viable part of Oregon, rather than a crumbling building with little purpose.

"It's the whole thing of being useful and having someone in it," she said. "It's like it's alive again."

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