HADLEY — An historic school building in town center that has been vacant for a decade could be rehabilitated into micro apartments, office space or classrooms and art studios at a cost of less than $10 million, according to a report presented to the Select Board last week.

“There’s work that needs to be done on the Russell School. However, it is a strong building, one that is ripe for redevelopment, and one that we think should have a future in this town, from our perspective,” said Jake Sanders, project executive for the nonprofit Architectural Heritage Foundation, or AHF Boston, of Brighton.

AHF Boston, working with Allegrone Companies of Lenox, a design/build company with a structural engineer on staff, recently completed the 24-page report on the 1894 building at 131 Russell St. The $40,000 study was commissioned after the Select Board and Community Preservation Act Committee in 2023 opted against asking residents at annual Town Meeting to appropriate $1.24 million from the CPA account to stabilize the 10,613-square-foot building, which is situated in a prominent, National Register Historic District spot in town center between Hopkins Academy and Town Hall.

The Russell School Building Committee had advocated for the stabilization work, out of concern for continued deterioration of the building, including its foundation and slate roof.

The consultants offered information about the necessary steps to move forward with a project, which Sanders said could include finding a private partner that could lease or own the space, a developer to handle the microunit housing and the various grants and tax credits that might be available for the historic property.

“In our research, we have found the Russell School is an ideal candidate for housing or a community use,” Sanders said, with four options ranging from active use to repairs to demolition. “We have a path forward for the town.”

The report states that “a renovated Russell School is an ideal candidate for a community user or housing.” The cost estimates for overhauling the building are substantially lower than the $20 million to $22 million included in a report provided to the Select Board in 2019, with those cost estimates more than doubling if the rehabilitation includes further protecting the building in case of an earthquake. But the cost estimates are not significantly higher than a $5.9 million estimate provided in 2013.

The base option features exterior work and miscellaneous interior improvements, at a cost of $4.75 million. That would “button up” the property, Sanders said, to make it usable without requiring full accessibility.

“It would bring the building back online to a limited extent,” Sanders said.

Elise Keith, architect with Allegrone, said a lot of time was spent examining the exterior and what is necessary to restore the building.

“We’re calling for full window replacement, some selective repointing, because full repointing isn’t necessary, 25% of the roof replacement, and we’re also calling for some structural repairs at all of the entries,” Keith said.

Repointing involves repair of the masonry joints in the stonework.

The tower facing Route 9 needs full repointing and structural repairs, Keith said, and should be a priority due to the grout failing from both inside and outside that portion of the building. “It’s the only piece that was concerning to us,” Keith said.

The residential scheme would cost $8.17 million and would yield 11 housing units, while the offices/classroom scheme would cost $8.07 million and yield art space and meeting rooms.

Keith showed a site plan with the necessary parking and 11 units and another site plan with a commercial kitchen, meeting space and restrooms.

Finally, the full building demolition would cost $2.04 million.

“Demolition of this property, based on the cost and its structural integrity, would be an avenue,” Sanders said. “As historic preservationists, we wouldn’t support (it), but obviously, we don’t live in Hadley, it’s a community decision.”

The 1.87-acre site is in a 500-year flood plain, Sanders said, meaning this is not an issue for development and parking. Americans with Disabilities Act and Massachusetts Architectural Access Board improvements are feasible, too, as is an addition on the property should a developer want to expand the site.

Anthony Allegrone, director of design for Allegrone, worked closely with the in-house estimating team, which handles historic preservation and adaptive reuse of much larger buildings. He said the costs could vary by up to 20%.

Allegrone said the consultants are not suggesting the building would fall down, but deterioration can start to progress if current conditions are maintained.

“There is an extensive repair that’s required to bring it up to, let’s say, new construction standards, and a standard that would enhance the longevity,” Allegrone said.

The building opened in 1894 as the home of Hopkins Academy, following a fire that destroyed the previous building the year before. It was used as an elementary school through 1996, and then as part of the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter School campus for a decade, before finally being home to North Star Self-Directed Learning for Teens, which left the building in 2015.

Select Board members thanked the consultants for the report, while observing no imminent decisions are being made.

“We appreciate the effort you’ve put into this. This is what we’ve asked for,” said Select Board Chairman Randy Izer. “It’s been a long time coming.”