The Jefferson School’s historic designation may have saved it from demolition in 2002, but its national historic status also means improvements are slow going.
Roof repairs have been completed, and a structural report was submitted to City Council last week. The report shows the brick façade needs re-pointing and mortaring, a project officials say will be more expensive and time consuming than projected.
The building’s historic designation makes improvements a more sensitive matter, says Assistant City Manager Rochelle Small-Toney. Improvements like re-pointing the bricks, at a projected cost of $1 million, must adhere to guidelines from the federal Secretary of the Interior and the National Parks Service, or risk voiding essential tax credits.
Total projected costs to renovate the Jefferson School currently sit at $30.5 million, while the City estimates $8 million in tax credits will offset costs.
The City is currently prequalifying contractors for the masonry project, which Small-Toney says will take about 12 months once Council moves forward. Also in the works is another historic designation for the school. The City will amend its historic designation application to include the old Jefferson Graded Elementary School, which occupied the site until it was demolished in 1959. The elementary school wasn’t included in the original application due to a lack of archaeological studies of the site.
The City will excavate over the summer and hopes to have approval for the amended application by December. Funding will be solicited from the Virginia Department of Housing and Redevelopment for the archaeological work.
Small-Toney doesn’t anticipate the process will hold up improvements to the building.—Meg McEvoy