FREEPORT — A South Buffalo Township business owner plans to turn the former Freeport Junior High School on 4th Street into an entertainment center.

Ron Mailki, owner of Mailki Mechanical Inc., bought that building and the former kindergarten center on High Street from the Freeport School District for $180,000 last year.

Mailki, 58, who grew up in the Laneville section of the borough, said the 4th Street building is suited for hall rentals in what used to be the cafeteria and performances in the old auditorium.

“I’d like to pick and choose the entertainment,” he said.

Mailki has been in contact with the company GigSalad, which books entertainers and events.

He also wants to rent the former school cafeteria as a banquet hall. All of the cooking and food storage equipment in the cafeteria kitchen came with the purchase.

“I had done repairs to it,” Mailki said.

The district sold the buildings as is, leaving equipment and supplies.

“It wasn’t suited for the new building,” Mailki said about the new Freeport Middle School at the high school complex off Route 356 in Buffalo Township.

He said it would have cost the district more to fix everything than what would have been generated by a sale.

“I could buy stuff at cost,” Mailki said.

He is going to rebuild the courtyard outside the hall.

Along with renting the gymnasium for such sports as basketball, Mailki would lease the room for small trade shows.

The second floor classrooms may become lodging.

“I’m thinking about extended-stay suites,” Mailki said.

A microbrewery may become a tenant, provided it obtains a liquor license.

Mailki now owns the building where he used to work. He did building maintenance for the district in the mid-1980s.

Due to Mailki’s familiarity with the building, he decided to buy it from the district.

He is hanging the school’s old Ten Commandments plaque, which was in storage, back on the wall.

“It’s still where I put it,” Mailki recalled.

He has more than $125,000 invested in the center so far.

The first step was removing all the books and furniture.

“It took a lot of labor,” Mailki said. “I think I have $8,000 in trucking costs.”

Mailki reached out to churches to find places needing donated items. He sent the books and furniture to various schools across the country that were identified as having such needs.

The project serves as on-the-job training for some of Mailki’s crew. He works with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry to hire Butler and Armstrong residents needing retraining for job skills.

Some of those previous trainees became permanent employees.

Mailki offered to buy the former stadium below the school, but the borough declined.

Before opening such a venue as an entertainment center, Mailki will have to obtain the necessary borough permits. He is hopeful it will not be an insurmountable issue.

“It’s not like I’m reconfiguring the building,” Mailki said.

He opened the Freeport Bumble Bee Learning Center in the High Street building last year.

Director Sarah Sappe said roughly 40 children are enrolled.

“All classrooms got cameras to protect the kids and the teachers,” Mailki said.

He originally tried to rent the building to others to operate a day care there but could not find anyone he felt comfortable enough with using his building.

“I could not find anyone to meet my standards,” Mailki said.