Thursday, December 21, 2006
Following the new life for an old school
After months of debate, Blacksburg Town Council in October approved a Montgomery County School Board plan to build a new Blacksburg High School stadium off Prices Fork Road, making way for the eventual redevelopment of the 20-acre old Blacksburg Middle School site.
An ad-hock committee made up of Montgomery County Supervisors, town council members and residents is meeting monthly to discuss how the redevelopment will be accomplished. Read minutes from meetings of the Old Blacksburg Middle School Transition Committee here: 11/15/06 meeting.
County officials hope sale or lease of the old school property will net several million dollars for other school building needs. Several commercial proposals, including a large-scale retail mall, residential projects and mixed-use developments have been considered for the site over since 2004.
Other school building needs stand in the way of any immediate action on the old middle school site, however.
The Montgomery County School Board still owns the old school and resolved in 2004 that it would turn over the property for redevelopment only after a new Blacksburg High School stadium plan was underway.
The resolution also requires that county supervisors came up either with a site for a new Prices Fork Elementary School or a place to put those students during renovations of the current elementary school.
County supervisors are currently negotiating behind closed doors to buy land in Elliston and Prices Fork for new elementary schools.
Stay tuned as more stories are posted. And post your thoughts in the meantime.
Most recent stories
Opinion
Sale of school property is a win-win situation
Issue is spending, not stadium; Stadium is coming, in Blacksburg or not
The school decision: community or commodity?
Leadership is key to school property debate
There is no middle school plan; there is only talk
It's too soon to judge mall option
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