Cassandra Henderson walked through the doors of Dillard Junior High in 1968 as a graduating student. Nearly six decades later, she walked through those same doors again, this time to collect her keys as a resident of the Dillard School Senior Apartments. The building in Yanceyville, North Carolina, sits in Caswell County, a place Henderson knows intimately but had left behind for the last 58 years.
For two decades, the former Caswell County Training School stood empty. Built between 1949 and 1951, it was the first African American school in the county to offer 11 grades. After desegregation in 1969, it was renamed for Nicholas Longworth Dillard, its longtime principal. The school closed in 2002, leaving a significant gap in the local community’s infrastructure.
The transformation required years of preservation advocacy. DreamKey Partners and Red Stone Equity Partners led the conversion, turning former classrooms into 53 affordable units. All apartments are restricted to seniors aged 62 and older with incomes at or below 50 percent of the area median income. The Tax Credit Coalition awarded the project its 2026 Recognition of Housing Tax Credit Excellence in the Rural Housing category.
The design prioritizes aging in place. Elevator-served accessibility, a community center with a business and computer room, and fitness spaces are standard features. Residents also have access to outdoor amenities, including pickleball and shuffleboard courts, which foster social connection among neighbors.
Henderson’s return highlights the human element of this adaptive reuse project. For her, it is a homecoming. For the other 52 residents, it is a stable home in a familiar community. The project offers a model for other rural towns facing aging populations and limited rental options, proving that historic preservation can meet urgent housing needs.