Civic

Buffalo's renovation of 48 older schools created local jobs and incorporated 21st century technology into once-vacant historic buildings like the City Honors School.

Written by Renee Kuhlman

Everyone once in a while, I have to visit a historic building and recharge. Sound familiar? There’s just something about being enveloped in a place that’s seen some history that’s good for my soul.

Last Friday, I got to see several renovated schools in Buffalo, New York courtesy of Conrad Wesolek from LPCiminelli Construction Corp. Did I mention that $1.2 billion (yes, billion) has been invested in renovating old and historic schools in Buffalo?

What fascinated me was the fact that the folks involved couldn’t believe that this wasn’t the norm around the country. They saw these renovations as being good for the school district’s bottom-line.

• We know that renovation creates more jobs than new construction because it’s more labor intensive.
• We know that renovation puts more money into the local economy because labor and materials are often produced and acquired locally.
• We know that public investment in infrastructure increases private investment in surrounding properties.

So like the folks in Buffalo, I struggle to understand why it’s not the norm around the country to reinvest in public school infrastructure.

That’s why we’ve been putting on an educational webinar series with partners such as the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI), the National Center for Safe Routes to School, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

If you missed the webinar series, don’t worry – you can still download them and enjoy them at your leisure.

Additionally, if you have questions about how you can make renovation of older schools a reality in your town, please join our upcoming live chat on November 1 at 2:00 p.m. EST. The live chat will provide you the opportunity to pose questions to experts in many fields, including a representative from the EPA who can answer questions about the first-ever federal school siting guidelines.

Like Buffalo, we at the National Trust believe that renovating older schools shows students, their parents, and other local citizens how historic buildings can be transformed into inspirational, 21^st century classrooms. Good for the pocketbook? Yes. But also good for the soul.

Renee Kuhlman directs the Helping Johnny Walk to School project – to help states encourage school siting practices and policy that sustain our communities.

National Trust for Historic Preservation

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded non-profit organization, works to save America's historic places.

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Old Ansted High School as it appears today. (Photo: Lynn Stasick)

Written by Lynn Stasick

A Concord University student addresses the Ansted City Council. (Photo: Lynn Stasick)

Hello again from the high hills and mountains of West Virginia! As a state-wide field representative for the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia (PAWV), I have been engaging students from within the West Virginia University school system to help save PAWV-listed endangered properties. Through those efforts, I had the opportunity to co-teach a class in heritage tourism last spring with friend and professor Dr. Susan Williams at Concord University in southern West Virginia.

Dr. Williams and I took 34 undergraduate students in the field to bring their talents to bear in the town of Ansted, located in Fayette County. The goal was to conduct an analysis of the Old Ansted High Schoolas part of an effort to save the building as a multi-use public facility. Presently, the city has no handicapped accessible public buildings and has to rent space. The plan is to turn the old high school into public office space, police headquarters, a twenty-first century hi-tech learning center, and - since there is already a gym – a public recreation center.

A new vision for the Old Ansted High School prepared by Concord University depicting rehabilitation possibilities.

The morning the class arrived at the school site, each student was given a disposable camera with which to establish a photographic record. Back in the classroom, they split into two groups and began to assemble a plan. One group developed a prioritized narrative needs assessment targeted toward structural rehabilitation, while the other worked on a plan for adaptive re-use.

When the project was complete, the class traveled back to Ansted one evening for a meeting with the mayor, town council, members of the police force, and concerned citizens to present their assessments and engage in an open discussion. The evening was a great success, and it was so exciting to see young people from urban, suburban, and rural America, as well as students from as far away as China engaging so well with the residents of this small, rural, West Virginia town. It was very refreshing indeed, and it was apparent that the members of the community were thankful for everyone’s efforts.

Lynn Stasick is Partners in the Field Representative with the Preservation Alliance of West Virginia.

Although we're always on the lookout for blog content, we encourage readers to submit story ideas or let us know if you've seen something that might be interesting and engaging for a national audience. Email us at editorial@savingplaces.org.

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