1922 School Building
ReUse Study Update
Presentation to the Annandale History
Club
April 1, 2013
Jill Bishop & Laura Hood Beckman
Jill Bishop and Laura Hood Beckman, along with Rose Mary Nelson, are
co-chairs of the "Citizens Committee to ReUse the 22." They are working
with about 20 committee members to find a new use for the 90-year old,
three-story, brick school building and save it from demolition. Anyone
interested in preserving the building is invited to join their efforts.
Jill and Laura presented the committee's efforts to date. A ReUse Study
Team has been selected. Their work will be paid with donated funds
administered by the ReUse fiscal agent, ACT (Annandale Area Community
Team). There will be a public meeting in June to gather information
from community members. The ReUse Study Team will present their final
report at a public meeting in mid-September 2013.
Jill said that the location of the 1922 school bulding is very important
to the economics of downtown and to keep an open mind to
the options identified by the ReUse Team. Your questions and
suggestions can be directed to any of the co-chairs of the "Citizens
Committee to ReUse the 22."
HISTORY OF THE THE 1922
BUILDING
·
1922 - building built,
cost $125K - housed grades 1-12; lunch continued to be served in old school
building
·
1954 - addition included
large gymnasium; more additions in
1961, 1977, 1979, and 1991
·
1972 – Bendix Elem
opened; 22 bldg plus additions then housed grades 7-12
·
1992 – new Annandale
High School opened, 22 building plus additions then housed grades 5-8;
school was renamed Annandale Middle School; 3rd floor was vacated
·
Fall, 2010 – with
declining enrollment 2nd floor was vacated
·
Fall of 2013 – new
Annandale Elementary will open and entire 1922 building will be vacated
Facilities Task Force Reports
– All (2005, 2008) have recommended demolition of the 1922 building.
Note: Windows: 1922 bldg has lots;
Bendix and HS hardly any; new Elem has lots again. It all comes around!
=========================================
HISTORY AND CURRENT STATUS
OF THE REUSE STUDY
Community Efforts in 2008
·
Dec, 2008 ref for $45M
for PK-8 & HS addn & Athl Complex failed
·
Sept, 2009 ref failed;
$31M for PK-5 + Athletic Complex
·
May, 2011 ref for $27.5M
for P-5 school passed
·
None of the referendums
included renovation of the 1922 building.
·
Athletic fields are
currently going forward in discussions between school and city.
=========================================
PRELIMINARY
FINDINGS by ReUse Study Experts from March 20th visit:
·
The building is structurally
sound.
·
The exterior walls and
interior bearing walls are masonry (not wood) and the floors and roof are
framed in wood.
·
The entire building is
sprinkled.
·
Interior bearing walls are located along the corridors and in the
stairwells. This would allow many of the partition walls to be rearranged to
accommodate new uses.
·
Skylights on the 3rd
floor would need roof reconstruction to become functional again.
·
Interior frames and sash for the original skylights over the third floor
study hall remain intact. Exterior glazing has been removed and roofed over,
but could be reconstructed to make the skylights functional again.
·
There is evidence of some
water damage.
·
All windows are extremely
inefficient, leak a great deal of heat, and need to be replaced.
·
Interior finishes, doors, and woodwork were originally very simple and
solid, and remain largely intact.
·
Interior spaces are spacious and light-filled.
·
There is no air conditioning.
·
The duct work and electrical
systems are original (1922). The boiler was replaced in 1954.
·
The old (1954) heating system
is shared with the entire Middle School.
·
To successfully rehabilitate
the 1922 building to function independent of the Middle School, the
mechanical systems need to be separated.
·
Overall, the building
looked very good.
The building is not fully accessible, but the plan lends itself to
alterations that will make it so.
SUGGESTIONS
FOR USES OF THE 1922 BUILDING:
·
Community Center
·
senior housing (possibly a
branch of Care Center)
·
loft apartments
·
hospice house
·
senior center (activities)
·
Annandale History Center
·
art center, art gallery
·
daycare
·
vocational school
·
charter school
·
indoor Swappers Meet
·
micro-business center
·
expansion of Youth First
·
Community Education space
·
lunch room/commons for
existing Middle School
·
Multi-Use Facility
·
…Your suggestion?
Note: Efforts to preserve the
historic 1922 school building were unsuccessful and it was razed in 2015.