Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 5, 1995 TAG: 9505050060
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The old classroom wing that faces Ninth Street will be razed and replaced because architects said it would be impractical and too expensive to renovate.
That section of the 67-year-old building has nine levels, and it would have required four elevators to make it accessible to students in wheelchairs, said Mark McConnel, an architect with Motley & Associates of Roanoke, architects for the project.
Members of the Southeast Action Forum, a neighborhood organization, generally favor the $5million-plus project, although some said they were not aware that part of the building would be razed and replaced.
But William Whitwell, a Hollins College professor who has co-authored a book on architectural history in the Roanoke Valley, said he hates to see the front part of the school razed.
"It's too bad to tear it down. It is representative of that era in school buildings," said Whitwell, who also is chairman of the city Architectural Review Board.
He said the city has done a good job of renovating several elementary schools and converting the old Jefferson High School into a center for the arts and community agencies.
"But it's too bad to lose another part of architectural history" by razing part of the Jackson school, Whitwell said.
The building has load-bearing walls that could not be moved to provide the space for suitable classrooms for a modern middle school, said Richard Kelley, assistant school superintendent for operations.
The building also has high ceilings and wasted space that could not have been eliminated by renovation, he said.
"We don't advocate tearing down old buildings, but you would have had to jury-rig it to meet middle-school standards," Kelley said. "To renovate the old classroom building would have cost as much as a new building."
Kelley said the new classroom wing will use the same color and style of brick as the rest of the school and will blend in.
"The new building won't be dramatically different from what you see from Ninth Street now," he said. "It will resemble what is there."
McConnel said the architects and school officials agonized over the decision to tear down and rebuild part of the building.
"While the building is a landmark, it is not unique. There are probably 450 like it in the state," he said.
Residents are happy that the "time has come" for the school to be renovated, said Dave Chopski, vice president of the neighborhood organization. Many feel that Southeast Roanoke is a forgotten neighborhood that is slow to receive improvements, he said.
"I don't see how anyone could complain," said Eralene Poindexter. "Anything to better Southeast, I'm for it."
Calvin Crane said he would leave the decision on the building's fate to the judgment of architects and school officials.
"They did a wonderful job on Morningside Elementary School, and I don't see why they wouldn't do a good job on Jackson," Crane said.
When the school is renovated in the next year, the main entrance will be shifted from Ninth Street to Montrose Avenue.
The school, which has three wings, will be reoriented so the front and a new entry plaza will be on Montrose.
Like the old classroom wing, the new structure will be three stories and occupy much of the same space.
The other two wings - which house the gymnasium and auditorium - will be renovated and remain as they are.
McConnel said the toughest task in designing the project was turning the entrance to Montrose Avenue so it contributes to, rather than detracts from, the school. The Montrose entrance will have a canopy.
The school will be set back so buses can leave the street and circle in front of the building to load and unload children. Now, the buses must stop in the street because there is no space to pull off.
Kelley said the renovated school will be about the same size as the current structure, which houses 435 students. Jackson will become a "technologically sophisticated" school with advanced learning, computer and high-technology laboratories, he said.
Construction is expected to begin by the middle of June and take a year to finish. Jackson will be closed during the next school year, and the students will be transported to other middle schools.
by CNB