Former Johnson City High School Becoming Modern Apartment Complex

The transformation of the historic Johnson City High School into several dozen apartments has entered its final phase.

The $20 million redevelopment project at the site at 435 Main Street is expected to be completed in about three months.

WNBF VIDEOS: Two very different looks inside the school at the end of this story.

A chalkboard has been retained in an old classroom that's being converted into an apartment at the old Johnson City High School. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Mark Lane, president of William H. Lane Incorporated, said there will be 54 apartments in the three-story building - 36 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom units.

Classes were held in the high school from 1915 to 1970. For decades after that, dozens of businesses, organizations and churches leased space in what was known as the NY-Penn Trade Center.

Mark Lane outside the former Johnson City High School on September 23, 2026. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

Johnson City officials ordered tenants out of the building in October 2024 because of safety and code violations.

Construction work at the site began about 14 months ago. The project is to receive about $1.2 million in state funding through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

The door to the principal's office remains inside the historic Johnson City High School. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

The future apartment complex is located near Wilson Medical Center and other United Health Services facilities, as well as Binghamton University's Health Sciences Campus.

The old gymnasium building located behind the former high school also was renovated as part of the redevelopment project.

The old high school lockers are being retained as part of the Johnson City conversion project. (Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News)

The Broome-Tioga BOCES School of Practical Nursing began holding classes in that building this month.

About 60 students now are enrolled in the LPN study program.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A look at the work underway inside the old Johnson City High School on September 23, 2026.

WNBF FLASHBACK VIDEO: This is the interior of the former school in October 2024.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com.