Extensive renovations at Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy are nearing completion, even as students at Erie's Public Schools continue to learn remotely.
The project is part of the district's investment to keep students warm, safe and dry.
Erie News Now got a sneak peek inside the building Monday afternoon.
Asbestos has been removed from a long defunct swimming pool. The space has now been transformed into a brand new space for a dance studio.
Two dark and leaky gymnasiums have new lighting, new paint, level flooring and brand new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Part of the new ventilation system includes ultraviolet light filtering to clean air for COVID-19 safety.
School officials are excited for students to see the improvements.
"We knew that we had structural issues above us, we knew that we needed to update the HVAC in this space and we knew that the floor that we're standing on had issues," said Neil Brockman, Erie's Public Schools Executive Director of Operations. "So to stand in this space and see a 100 percent transformation of this space is probably the most exciting thing for me - and I'm not even the one who's going to use it."
On the outside, the school has a new roof, plus repaired brickwork and stairways.
The Erie School Board meets this week to consider when high school students should return their buildings.