Live History In Repurposed East Dallas Schoolhouse

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Everything about this place is an oxymoron. It’s old-fashioned modern. It’s historic luxury. It’s educational meets residential. Potential renters can now lease a studio, one-bedroom, or two-bedroom unit in the 1903 repurposed Davy Crockett School in East Dallas.

Everything about this place is an oxymoron.

It’s old-fashioned modern. It’s historic luxury. And it’s educational meets residential.

Potential renters can now lease a unit in the circa 1903, repurposed Davy Crockett School in East Dallas.

Aptly called The Principal, the 52-unit building at 401 North Carroll Ave., in Dallas, is the head of its class.

You’d never believe this building is more than 100 years old. The Principal rocks an Instagram page and a blog letting its renters know about upcoming movies in the park or what they can do in the area for an $8 Uber ride.

Studio apartments are listed for $1,095 per month for 506 square feet and $1,195 per month for 621 square feet. One-bedroom apartments go up to $1,350 a month, and while the building does have some two-bedrooms, they’re all occupied, as the first lease was signed more than a year ago. Eight studios and two one-bedroom units are currently available.

Class is now in session

Property Manager and Leasing Specialist Patti Lopez with Perry Guest Companies said she’s received “tremendously positive” feedback over the past two months that she’s been handling leasing.

“When you go inside, it’s just like when you were in school,” Lopez said. “It has the original floors and windows, the big hallways and the stairs.”

Well, maybe it’s not just like when you were in school. There is a basement party room with a pool table, shuffleboard and dartboards. Residents can unwind after a long day at the wine bar or release their inner child at the video game arcade. A gym and doggy wash station round out the living experience.

Lopez said she doesn’t know of any current tenants who went to school at Davy Crockett, but plenty of former students are keeping an eye on the progress of the building. Based on Facebook testimonials, Crockett grads are thrilled to see their old schoolhouse will remain a place where more memories are made.

You gotta admit, it would be pretty fun to have a food fight in your own kitchen – knowing that space might have once been a school lunchroom.

Repurposing old schoolhouses has become a trend in recent years, as the Eagle Ford School in West Dallas also was recently preserved for landmark status.

Quick commute

Tenants at The Principal can count on accessibility to Crockett and Klyde Warren parks, uptown Dallas, downtown Dallas, the Dallas Arts District, Baylor Medical Center, and Deep Ellum.

A secure delivery service called Fetch is available to tenants so packages are not left on by the front door all day while the occupants are at work. Covered, gated parking is available for $35.

This spot is perfect for young professionals, Lopez added.

“So far we’ve heard wonderful things,” she said. “It’s super cute and a great place to call home. It’s pretty, it’s historic, and it has elements not offered anywhere else in Dallas.”

Want to know more about The Principal? Click here.

April Towery covers Dallas City Hall and is an assistant editor for CandysDirt.com. She studied journalism at Texas A&M University and has been an award-winning reporter and editor for more than 25 years.

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