Is anyone holding his/her breath awaiting Pete's execution of a sale for each of these properties? I'd advise not.
Like movies? How would you like your own theater?
The Richmond County school board is ready to work out a deal.
The property offers plenty of parking, what's left of eight screens, a projection room and even a concession stand.
The vacant General Cinema Regency 8, which was donated to the board in 2002, is up for sale, along with six other board properties.
It's part of $1.5 million in real estate that must be sold to balance this year's budget, which dealt school officials a $13.4 million shortfall.
The budget required raising taxes, making cuts to supplies and digging deep into reserves, but the final piece will come with the sale of property, including the theater.
Despite mustiness, graffiti and broken glass, the former theater behind the old Regency Mall is generally in good shape, said Jorge Hernandez, a design draftsman, who conducts monthly inspections of the board's vacant properties.
The facility is structurally sound and would make a great venue for conferences, the performing arts and other functions, he said.
School board attorney Pete Fletcher is drafting options for how to bid the real estate, which the board could consider this week.
This isn't the first time the school board has sold some of its properties, although at least in recent years the real estate has been sold to support the board's building program and not to fund its daily operations.
The Houghton School was sold and is now a private school for low-income children, and the William Robinson school will soon be high-end condominiums.
Not all of the properties sold by the board have been developed. A vacant lot sits along the Augusta Canal on Walton Way where the Lawton B. Evans school once stood. When the property was sold, the school was demolished.
Reach Greg Gelpi at (706) 828-3851 or greg.gelpi@augustachronicle.com.
A.C. GRIGGS SCHOOL
LOCATION: 1924 Grand Blvd.
APPRAISED VALUE: $155,000 in December
CONDITION: It has deteriorated and environmental issues must be addressed.
OF NOTE: It was built in 1934 to replace Turpin Hill School and was named Emma Stoughton School. It was renamed A.C. Griggs School in 1958.
OLD SUE REYNOLDS ELEMENTARY
LOCATION: 3713 Wrightsboro Road
APPRAISED VALUE: $335,000 in December
CONDITION: The first building appears to be in average condition, according to the most recent appraisal, with no apparent roof leaks or need for major maintenance repairs. The second building is considered to be in "extremely poor condition" and hasn't been maintained.
OF NOTE: Originally built in 1927, a second building was later added, bringing the total square footage to 27,822.
FLOYD GRAHAM SCHOOL
LOCATION: 4790 Windsor Spring Road
APPRAISED VALUE: $235,000 in December
CONDITION: The school, built in 1949, is considered to be in extremely poor condition with a roof that partially caved in.
OF NOTE: The facility operated as a school until about 2002. It has since been used for storage.
OLD JOHN S. DAVIDSON SCHOOL
LOCATION: 1102 Telfair St.
APPRAISED VALUE: $360,000 in December
CONDITION: The building is in need of extensive repair and has environmental issues. Repairs to the roof alone are estimated at $650,000. Demolishing the building will cost an estimated $375,000.
OF NOTE: Named for John S. Davidson, who is considered the father of public education in Richmond County. It closed in 1997 when the current Davidson opened.
MARTHA LESTER SCHOOL
LOCATION: 1688 Broad St.
APPRAISED VALUE: $235,000
CONDITION: Good condition
OF NOTE: The site, which sits on the banks of the Augusta Canal, once housed the school system's orchestra program.
OLD HORNSBY ELEMENTARY
LOCATION: 415 Laney-Walker Boulevard Extension
APPRAISED VALUE: $300,000 in December
CONDITION: Good condition
OF NOTE : The facility was in use as a school until May. It's being replaced with a new facility next to East Augusta Middle School.
REGENCY EXCHANGE 8
LOCATION: 2413 Jennings Road
APPRAISED VALUE: $500,000 in June 2007
CONDITION: Generally good condition with an intact roof, but there has been a bit of vandalism, including graffiti and broken glass.
OF NOTE: The property was donated to the school board in 2002.
Sources: Richmond County Board of Education and Historic Augusta Inc.
Comments
Is anyone holding his/her breath awaiting Pete's execution of a sale for each of these properties? I'd advise not.
Demolishing the old Lawton B. Evans school building, designed by architect Willis Irvin, was a sin and a travesty. Whoever was responsible for that should be having trouble sleeping at night. I sincerely hope that the other old school buildings can be saved so that Augusta's unique personality is not swallowed up in strip malls and ugliness.
Quaxo
You are 200% right inscrutable!!
Why have they waited to sell these unused properties? With studies showing the need to consolidate schools perhaps there should be a few more locations on the list. It makes a great deal more sense to sell these properties before they become so run down that they have to be torn down.
I totally agree, about selling off & destroying Lawton. It had better acoustics (proven) than Bell Auditorium. It was just another way for city to make money. & put money in some individuals pocket! When they tore it down, I went & picked up a few bricks. Theye sold off ALLEN PARK piece by piece.. It was ideal. for ball park then & for today. But they wished they'd never sold it. When was deeded over, it was to remain park forever, where did they fine the loop hole? Condemened all homes in Frog Holler. One day had one of pocket receivers as a patient. He was bragging about how much money was made off those people and laughing & how much money he'd made.. I just let him rattle own & own. After his medical test was over, I helped him to his wheel-chair & before he left for his room, I said I was 1 of those familes you put out, & I watched my home go up in flames for fire practice! I had to go to my office & cry. Latter I heard he died.
Lawton was in good condition. With a little renavation, it could have been used for aprtments, like the mill. the audatorium could have still been used for it's great acoustics. Small concerts, plays, theater even had its own projection room. Why buy extra land, when you have land & can just remodel the old building
It's a DISGRACE to see the condition of the Floyd Graham Building ...at one time they had a huge blue tarp nailed down on it and now it has blown off and rotted. How hard would it be to at least cut the grass..seems like a salvage company would want all the old wood and brick from there.
Remember when augusta state demoslished the old Forest Hills Va, it contained beautiful craftsmanship and woodwork but it was torn down all for "progress" and still remains a vacant lot today just like the site of the old Lawrton B Evans school. I hope whoever purchases the old schools will try to preserve as much as possible. todays schools are built with no personality unlike the buildings of the past.
I'll be happy if they get 10 cents on the dollar of their appraised values. Just get them out of the hands of the Board of Education! No questions, no strings attached!
Some people are too nostalgic on here. You cannot keep everything old. Keeping some things makes sense, but some buildings are just plain old, not classic. If you kept everything old you would not have anything new. Although some people invision these old buildings being renovated and used again, the fact is if they are not torn down they sill sit abandoned. As pointed out some have environmental issues. I guess ASU should have kept its old asbestos filled buildings.
You mean to tell me that this property (Movie Theater) was never used since it was in their hands? All the other movie theaters were closed, and you could have received money for low priced movies and you chose NOT to? All you had to do was ask for volunteers from Habit for humanity to help clean up the place and make it more respectable. Instead, you chose to sit on this property and do NOTHING? No wonder RC schools are in so much trouble, just like your curriculum, you do NOTHING and the kids suffer for it.
Right on, Deborah!
Portsmouth, Virginia has the Commodore Theater in their Historic section of their town. It was a 1945 Art Deco style Motion Picture Theater. It has been completed restored and they have first run movies in a dinner theater style. It requires reservations for the dinner and the movies. If you are only coming for the movies, you are given a seat in the balcony. They converted one of the large bathrooms into a kitchen. There are phones on each table and you call in your order to the kitchen. They also do large groups and private functions during off hours. Our Regency Theater would be excellent for this type of theater.
Another suggestion for the Regency Theater would be a Mystery Dinner Theater. I have enjoyed them in New York City and Virginia Beach, VA. www.mysterydinner.com.
So why isn't Hephzibah Elementary on this list? It's been empty since they built the new one in 2001? Oh...Thats right, it hasnt started to decay just yet, guess we have to wait till it starts fallin down 1st...
daperdoo....the old Hephzibah Elementary School was demolished and the new one built on the same site as the old. If you talking about the school in Hephzibah on Windsor Spring Road IT IS on the list...Floyd Graham and it clearly states it's roof is falling in...Why do people make comments when they don't know what they are talking about?!!!
The county should make the Floyd Graham school as a 911 center. The current 911 center is in a flood zone. Just a thought!
the City of Hephzibah is high ground!
I've seen the inside of the old Floyd Graham school as recently as last week. It's horrible. The ENTIRE roof leaks. Rats live in the furniture stored there. Theres moss growing on the interior walls in some places. Its sad to see what it has become. Its gone on a steep downhill climb in only 6 years. I don't think anybody can do much with the building anymore.
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