DATE: Saturday, August 16, 1997             TAG: 9708160004

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B8   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   67 lines

TAYLOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL THE DEMOLITION CHOICE

Walter Herron Taylor Elementary School in Norfolk's West Ghent is in wretched shape. The Norfolk School Board belatedly set out to renovate and expand the 80-year-old structure. But based on the advice of its architects and consultant, the board voted unanimously in February to replace the old building with a new one. Construction is scheduled to begin in October.

When the demolition prospect was raised last December, many were shocked. Parents who had children at Taylor were divided. Division continues. Preservationists are protesting.

Parents who have lobbied for years for renovation see a new building as the only way to go. The Taylor PTA and the West Ghent Civic League registered their support for replacement.

The School Board conducted a public hearing in January. But critics of demolition say that all this happened too fast; that the public at large had little time to react to the proposal for a new school.

We agree. People need time to debate demolition of landmarks. The School Board did not give preservationists enough time to demonstrate that, as they believe, an accessible, safe and fully equipped renovated-expanded Taylor could be had at an affordable cost. The School Board failed to make its case in a way that allays reasonable doubt.

Still, the issue was aired at Taylor and at the neighborhood league. Renovation-expansion options were exhibited and explained. It was stated that the existing Taylor School could be partly renovated and expanded for no more than the projected $6 million-plus for a new school.

It appears that the School Board chose the necessary option if the neighborhood school in West Ghent is to stay on the Taylor site. The School Board's architects and consultant have plausibly concluded that renovation and expansion - however much money might be invested - could not yield a facility adequate for the education of young schoolchildren, pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children among them, in the 21st century.

Clearly, Taylor could be transformed into an administration building or used for some other public purpose. But its first floor is not at ground level, which presents a safety hazard for the youngest children that could leave the school system vulnerable to lawsuit should tragedy occur. Taylor's classrooms are small by state standards and could not be enlarged sufficiently. No renovation-expansion design that the School Board's architects came up with would produce a suitable school.

Our preference is for preservation. But we conclude, after viewing their designs, that the architects - John S. Tymoff and Barry E. Moss of Norfolk - explored renovation and expansion extensively. We conclude that the School Board's advisers are well-qualified to determine whether Taylor could be saved and upgraded for continued service as an elementary school.

Preservation proponents contend that the conclusion that demolition is necessary is not based on the best information. They say the School Board should order an independent study of renovation-expansion. They may be right.

But the architects have an admirable renovation track record - the former Smith & Welton department store now part of the Norfolk Campus of Tidewater Community College is an example of their work. The architects were originally hired by the School Board to renovate Taylor.

We agree with critics of demolition that Norfolk has swept away nearly all of its architectural legacy from previous periods in its successful struggle to survive the outflow of middle-income population and businesses. We agree that demolition, as Taylor preservationists say, is forever and thus not to be undertaken lightly.

But Taylor School's shortcomings have been obvious for years. An improved environment for its pupils is overdue. No proposed alternative to a replacement school appears feasible. The School Board believed it must act. It acted in good faith.

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