Five years ago, Immaculate Conception School opened its new home at the north end of Columbia, leaving the former school complex on Main Street empty and unused.

With the former Immaculate Conception Church having been repurposed as a wedding and event space for several years, the neighboring former school will also soon see a new chapter with the completion and opening of The Principal Hotel.

The hotel’s construction has been in progress since the school was vacated back in 2019. This renovation is part of the larger project to fully realize the entire property in the 300 block of South Main Street as Franklin Yard, a combined hotel, event venue and dining location in downtown Columbia.

Main Street Abbey was the first completed part of this project, making use of the site’s historic church as a venue for several hundred events since its opening in May 2018.

Salle Plunkett, who serves as project manager for Franklin Yard, spoke positively about The Abbey, as did Franklin Yard Project Manager Ryan Mendoza, who said the venue’s heavy bookings have only increased as The Principal Hotel has neared completion.

“Steady growth from the beginning and exponential growth in the last year I’d say now that the hotel and the campus is starting to take shape,” Mendoza said. “I think people get really excited because it’s kind of a one-stop shop. It provides a ton of value and convenience for them and their guests.”

The hotel will officially be open Aug. 24, with guests able to stay in one of the facility’s 34 rooms as they enjoy The Principal’s amenities as well as the historic atmosphere.

During a tour of the hotel, Plunkett noted several design choices within the rooms as many feature high ceilings and tall windows along with some academic flairs, particularly in the chalkboard bathroom doors and window drapes designed to evoke ICS’s old plaid uniforms.

“It’s not your average hotel, and people are not interested as much in the average hotel,” Plunkett said. “People are looking for hotels with some character, some boutiqueness to them. And this definitely has all of that. Bigger rooms, taller ceilings, thoughtfulness in the design.”

Regarding room features, Plunkett noted several larger rooms featuring a kitchenette and other amenities allowing for more comfortable extended stays. The hotel’s family suites also feel especially spacious.

The hotel’s aesthetic as a former school can be felt even more outside of the rooms, with old locker doors painted to look like the spines of books such as “Harry Potter” and Jane Austen classics.

That school vibe is also felt in the many components of the old school which now serve as decorative features in the hotel.

Plunkett identified many such features, including the hand rail on the first floor breezeway made of repurposed radiators, several high doorways on the second floor, iron vent covers that have been refinished and put back in their original locations and light fixtures on the second floor which, while not from ICS, come from a school built in the 1920s.

Right outside the hotel lobby, guests can also learn about the property’s history which dates back well before ICS as many now know it.

Plunkett noted just how important it was for Franklin Yard’s organizers to maintain the site’s history even as the school has been transformed.

“Our primary goal was to retain the history of the entire campus, and throwing tidbits here and there of different things that relate to the school helps retain that history and also brings interest to the property by people who are local, wanting to see their relatives, wanting to see what we’ve done,” Plunkett said. “ICS has been a big part of the community for so long that we couldn’t just rip it down and start over.”

Beyond the room design and academic aesthetic, The Principal Hotel also features a small exercise room with treadmills and some weights, meeting rooms and “Detention,” a hotel bar at the far end of the first floor which leads to an outdoor patio and fire pit.

As Plunkett spoke highly of the hotel’s design, so too did Principal Hotel Manager Brittney Wheeler, who said the school theme should serve as a big draw for guests.

“In my personal opinion, the hotel keeping the theme of the school is what is going to draw people to our location,” Wheeler said. “We’ve had opportunities where people that went to school here or taught here, they have come to the hotel and said, ‘Oh, this is where this used to be! This is where I taught my first class at!’ Being able to have those people be able to come in and relive those memories definitely makes it a memorable experience.”

With The Principal Hotel soon opening up, work has also been underway for Graphite and Home Court, which will be respectively taking up the school’s old cafeteria and gymnasium.

Graphite is intended to serve as a higher-end restaurant, with cafeteria food replaced by farm-to-table meals alongside a wine and beer selection.

Home Court is a more casual option for the community. The sports bar will have a central bar and a show kitchen on one end of the former gym as well as space for virtual golf suites and other family-friendly entertainment. A mezzanine level is also planned, providing additional space to enjoy the TV wall.

Plunkett and Mendoza said Graphite is tentatively set to open in late fall of this year, while Home Court could be finished in the summer of 2025.

They both spoke about their expectations for Franklin Yard, with Plunkett hoping for support from the community and also speaking on the vision of developer Gregg Crawford, the property’s owner.

“This is Gregg’s dream,” Plunkett said. “He has seen a project similar to McMenamins in Oregon… His kids went to this school, and he’s always had a dream for this school and this campus.”

Mendoza similarly mentioned his hopes for Franklin Yard to be a strong addition to the community, potentially hosting open events for Columbia residents.

“I think we aim to be kind of a pillar of the community,” Mendoza said. “We have lots of plans for once everything’s open to have hosted events for the community. We’ve thought about farmer’s markets and pop-up shops.”