The former Wayne Middle School building will soon be transformed into the new home of the Erie Center for Arts and Technology (ECAT), Governor Tom Wolf announced Friday. 

The former school is located at 650 East Avenue. 

The governor announced the Commonwealth Cornerstone Group has completed a New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) transaction of $9.5 million with ECAT to provide the funding for the project. The NMTC program provides federal tax credits to investors in low-income communities. 

Once renovations are complete, the mostly vacant Wayne School, located in the 600 block of East Avenue, will become a community hub for job training, health care, social services and the arts through various tenants. 

One of the anchor tenants will be the Wayne Primary Care Clinic operated by Primary Health Network (PHN), which provides medical treatment with payment on a sliding scale for low-income patients in Erie County. The clinic, which is already located in the former school building, will expand from 4,200 to 17,000 square feet. Additional primary health care services, specialty medical offices and a pharmacy will be added. 

ECAT will become the second anchor tenant, using 17,000 square feet to provide expanded high school classes in photography and digital arts, as well as adult job training programs. 

“The Erie Center for Arts and Technology is proposing an exciting and innovative plan for taking a vastly underused space and transforming it into a community resource of real value,” said Gov. Wolf. “The programs and services that will be offered there will greatly benefit people by offering much-needed education, job training and health care.”  

A 2,500 square foot gym and gallery space will host community events and art exhibits, and it will be available for rent. The remaining 17,000 square feet will be available for commercial lease to social service providers offering services requested by local residents. 

United Way of Erie County has also committed to having offices in the building. 

"This will mean much more than the redevelopment of one building," said Erie Senator Dan Laughlin, who worked with a group of area leaders to bring the NMTC program to Erie. "It is a project that has the potential to impact many lives and spark an economic development renaissance on Erie's East Side." 

The project is expected to create 32 temporary full-time construction jobs. Once renovations are complete, the various employers in the building are expected to create 29 jobs and retain 38 jobs paying between $20.75 and $23 per hour.