NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. — From a distance, the brick-covered building in New Port Richey can be unassuming. Especially, when it’s empty and in need of some sprucing.

What You Need To Know

  •  The city of New Port Richey is close to purchasing the former building that housed Gulf High School

  •  The building, which at one time was also the Schwettman Education Center, is over 100 years old

  •  Local residents are hoping the building, once it's owned by the city, will eventually become a cultural center, similar to Starkey Ranch in Odessa

But look a little closer, like at the base of the flagpole outside of this place, and you see bricks showing the hundreds of memories that fill this 102-year-old structure.

For people around New Port Richey, this place means a lot.

“There are many people in Pasco County who went to school there and they have fond memories of it,” said Mary Beth Isaacson, the executive assistant for the Richey Community Orchestra.

Isaacson has a passion for the old building that was the home of Gulf High School for nearly 40 years and then Schwettman Education Center after that.

“Schwettman is a really historic building that's important to this community,” Isaacson said.

According to Isaacson, her grandmother was a teacher at the high school right around the time it moved away from this spot, but she says the last thing she’d want to see is this building get torn down.

“It would be wonderful if we could turn this into something that can be preserved for the community,” said Isaacson. “Where we can continue having arts, education, music, education, science, education, and all sorts of other things.”

That’s why she and several other people around town are hoping, once the city buys this building, it can eventually become a cultural center, which could be a hub for people to spend time in for things like the community orchestra.

“It's something that you can go and do when you're not at home and you're not at work because where else do you go if you're not doing those things?” Isaacson said.

The idea is one of many the city council heard last month during a Community Redevelopment Agency meeting. The main takeaway is that the council is in the early stages of the process so they’re hearing as many ideas as possible before getting down to brass tax.

The restoration work, along with buying the building, is expected to cost millions but Isaacson thinks the benefits are endless now that the city is in its centennial anniversary.

“We need to preserve this building so that in 2124,” Isaacson said. “People are looking back on the next hundred years and saying, ‘wow, what foresight the city had in those times to take this building and instead of turning it into more car washes or storage places or condos or offices, we have this wonderful building that's been around for 200 years.’”

The city expects to close on buying the building sometime next week.

City leaders have said they hope to preserve the building saying the school district is selling the property for the city to maintain for the next 15 years.