Renovation Of Marion High School Could Cost $3.3M

By Debra McCown
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: June 18, 2008

MARION, Va. – It will cost more than $3.3 million to renovate the historic Marion High School building, consultants announced at a Tuesday meeting.

Restoring the building’s windows, which would be required to qualify for restoration tax credits, would add another $160,000 to the project.

“The biggest item that would differentiate between renovation and restoration in this structure, and one of the predominant features, is the windows,” said Doug Covington, a consultant from Spectrum Design, who added that tax credits could reduce the cost to $2.25 million.

He said the building “was built like a tank” and is in good structural condition despite water damage.

Smyth County owns the building; Marion town officials are seeking proposals from people who would like to renovate the building for adaptive re-use.

Proposals are due to project manager Ken Heath by 5 p.m. June 23. The consultants will make recommendations, and a committee of citizens will ultimately decide who gets the building, pending county approval of the project.

“What will make it or break it is whether it’s a viable use of the building from a budgetary aspect,” said Jeremy Latimer with consulting firm K.W. Poore. “Are you going to be able to restore it and have operations that are self-maintaining without any subsidies.”

According to a preliminary report about the building, it contains 22,376 square feet of space and the cost of renovation would be $148.60 per square foot.

“This is a realistic look and gives everybody a clear picture of what it’s going to take,” said Heath, who added three serious proposals have been discussed – one to convert it onto a school of the arts, a second for a religious youth center and another from the county’s historical society.

“We don’t want to see a building that is mothballed. ... We’re really excited to be working with the community to see if we can come up with some proposals that can bring some life back into that building, to bring some life back into downtown,” Heath said.

The town has plans for other downtown improvements around and near the building, linking it to other downtown Marion attractions, he said.

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