Errigo, the development coordinator for the St. Paul-based MetroPlains Development, first walked through the halls of the former Winona Junior and Senior High five years ago. What he saw was a building that was literally crumbling from 84 years of use by teenagers.

"We all worked so hard for this day - I apologize that it sounds like the Oscars - but there's a long list of thank yous," Errigo said.

The thank you list spanned wide, ranging from city officials and the port authority to the school board to local banks who had helped finance the project.

One of those thanked was Winona Mayor Jerry Miller, who first walked down the halls in 1951 as a student.

"A lot of people are excited to see this and it is heartening to see these buildings live as part of our community," Miller said.

Miller had visited the downtown Winona school many times prior to 1951, watching basketball games in the gymnasium.
Scott Hannon, the curriculum director for Winona Area Public Schools, spent 33 years of his life in the hallways of the school - first as a student, then a teacher and finally as the principal who closed the school.

"There are a lot of memories in every facet," Hannon said.

The remodeling job has changed the one-time school-bus yellow walls to more subtle colors.

"The memories are disappearing. I hardly recognize some parts," Hannon said. "It's exciting. It's a new era."

Hannon had brought the combination to the old school's safe, just in case it had survived the renovation. Project coordinators from MetroPlains went searching for the architect to see if it had been incorporated with the remodeling, just like the brick walls and transoms in other places.

School board chairman Larry Laber remembers selling the building six years ago for $5,000.

"We didn't want to see it knocked over or used or abused," Laber said. "If we would have known how nice it would be, we would have asked for more money."

Errigo said the building met all of his expectations. The development company, which is known for finding new uses for historical buildings, has done 40 other projects.

"Day to day, you tend to lose perspective," Errigo said. "Zoning, finance and land use, when it's all happening, you don't remember where you're headed, but standing in here, it's a building with new life."