WITH A population that scarcely breaks 500, Wilkinson, Indiana, is your quintessential small town. Located 40 minutes east of downtown Indianapolis, it offers a unique piece of real estate. What in the 1950s was the gymnasium building for Wilkinson High School has been split to create a bright, spacious home in one half, with the other half retaining the court and bleachers.
For the sellers, Lauren and Kyle Petry, the most significant update was refinishing and restoring the original gym flooring on the house side. They turned to experts Four Star Floor Care to carry out the monumental task. Authenticity was critical to the Petrys, who are preservationists at heart. “There’s something really special about the floor, and we wanted to make sure that integrity stayed with the building,” Lauren says. Even the floor lines were replicated after refinishing. “They were hand-painted the first time, and we didn’t want to take that away.”
Within the 5,357-square-foot home are four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a weightlifting room. Strategic insulation that traps air pockets keeps heating bills to about $250 a month despite the size of the living space.
On the second floor, the primary suite features soaring wood ceilings accentuated by the original rafters. Throughout the home, walls that face the gymnasium are lined with windows, so it’s easy to keep an eye on the kids’ pickup games. Plus, an incredible second-floor balcony area overlooks the court below.
The new owners will get the yearbooks, blueprints, old keys, and other memorabilia connected with the nearby high school that was bequeathed to the Petrys by the original owners. Now the baton (or ball) of preservation is being passed to the next family looking for an out-of-the-ordinary abode.
6816 N. 1025 E, Wilkinson
PRICE $584,977 |AGENT Hart Summeier, Level Up Real Estate Group 317-747-3563
