scorecardAn Indiana couple spent 20 years turning a high school basketball gym into a home. They're listing it for $299,000, and the agent says 'it still smells like a gym.'
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An Indiana couple spent 20 years turning a high school basketball gym into a home. They're listing it for $299,000, and the agent says 'it still smells like a gym.'

Amanda Goh   

An Indiana couple spent 20 years turning a high school basketball gym into a home. They're listing it for $299,000, and the agent says 'it still smells like a gym.'
The exterior of the house.360 Tour Designs
  • An Indiana couple has spent 20 years turning a gym into a home.
  • The building has two distinct halves: One part looks like a home, and the other half is still a gym.

Attention all basketball fans, this one's for you: A high school gym-turned-home in Wilkinson, Indiana, is on the market for $299,000.

Attention all basketball fans, this one
The exterior of the former high school gym.      360 Tour Designs

The gym building, which used to be part of Eastern Hancock High School, sits on a 3.6-acre lot at the edge of the town and comes with half of the original basketball court, per the listing.

The owners of the house are Jeff and Christi Broady, listing agent Roy Wilson from F.C. Tucker Company told Insider. The Broadys did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.

This is the first time they are putting the house up for sale since they purchased it in 2002 for $85,000, listing records show.

Houses in Wilkinson, Indiana, have a median listing home price of $199,900, per Realtor.com. There are currently five single-family homes for sale, with prices that range from $175,000 to $299,000 — making the former high school gym home the most expensive listing in the area.

The building is now split into two distinct halves: One half still looks and feels like a gym, replete with bleachers and high ceilings. The other half, which is behind the mustard-colored wall in the photo below, looks and feels like a home, with segmented rooms and two levels.

The building is now split into two distinct halves: One half still looks and feels like a gym, replete with bleachers and high ceilings. The other half, which is behind the mustard-colored wall in the photo below, looks and feels like a home, with segmented rooms and two levels.
The interior of the original gym, which still has half of the basketball court.      360 Tour Designs

After the interior walls were built, the owners were able to create new living spaces, such as a kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms, Wilson said. They also added windows and doors that led to the other half of the building, where they kept the original basketball gym.

The current owners have been working on converting the interior of the gym since they bought the property 20 years ago.

The current owners have been working on converting the interior of the gym since they bought the property 20 years ago.
One of the living areas in the house.      360 Tour Designs

There used to be two other school buildings that stood with the gym, Wilson said: "The school buildings were built in 1922 but were torn down just a few years ago."

The gym was constructed decades later, in 1950, Wilson said.

"I sold the gym 20 years ago to the people who are currently selling it, and they've been building the house inside the gym ever since," he said.

The owners did most of the renovation themselves.

The owners did most of the renovation themselves.
The bar counter.      360 Tour Designs

"They did the work themselves — he's in construction," Wilson said. The couple has been working on the house for two decades, but there are some parts of the property that are not completed.

"The wood trim in some places is not finished, but it's very livable," Wilson said.

Most of the gym's original maple flooring can be found throughout the house, and the kitchen floor still has basketball court lines.

Most of the gym
The kitchen.      360 Tour Designs

The current owners are not former students of the school, but Wilson is.

"If you stand in the kitchen, you can stand at the foul line that I stood at many times, and the basketball goal would be directly above the kitchen sink if it were still there," Wilson said.

There's a pending offer on the house from a former student, Wilson added: "He didn't go to that building, but he is a graduate of that same school system."

There are four bedrooms in the house, including a master bedroom that overlooks the original gym.

There are four bedrooms in the house, including a master bedroom that overlooks the original gym.
One of the bedrooms in the house.      360 Tour Designs

The property used to be zoned for commercial use but is now residential, Wilson said: "Before the current owners bought it, it was a hardware store. And they kept the gym design as well, they just set the shelves on the basketball floor."

The owners are selling the property because they're tired of working on the home, Wilson said.

The owners are selling the property because they
One of the three bathrooms in the house.      360 Tour Designs

"They're tired, and their son is moving out of the area to Florida and they're following him," he said.

Wilson said he has received four offers thus far. "Not unusual in this market," he said. "There have been well over 20 showings on it."

The buzz around the property is also due to the strong emotional attachment from the local community, Wilson said.

The buzz around the property is also due to the strong emotional attachment from the local community, Wilson said.
The other end of the building is where half of the original basketball court and the bleachers still stand.      360 Tour Designs

The house is located about 40 minutes from Indianapolis. "It's a basketball-crazy state. There's not a whole lot to do in Indiana in the winter, so people tended to collect around basketball," Wilson said.

"The coolest thing is more than half of the gym floor is still gym — the original floor, the original bleachers, the original basketball goal," Wilson added. "I graduated from that gym in 1969, I could tell you where I was sitting."

There is one thing that any prospective buyer should know, though: "It still smells like a gym," Wilson said.

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