Preserving Dunbar: Former school building still in wait and see mode
Two years after plans for the once Black high school were revealed, the former school building is still sitting and awaiting its fate. In December, we shared with readers the latest information we had regarding Dunbar. Almost a year later, not much has changed.
In 2019, the Lexington City Council voted to grant a zoning permit to Shelter Investments Development Corporation (SIDC) to convert Dunbar School on Smith Ave. into affordable, senior housing. Since then, SIDC has applied for historic tax credits (which they didn’t receive), rumors have circulated about what’s going to happen next and the building has continued to sit, unused, as has been the case since 2008.
Ned Fowler, president of SIDC, confirmed the company no longer has site control over the property but is interested in renewing its contract with the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte (owners of the land and building). Fowler noted attempts to reopen the lines of communication with the Diocese haven’t been successful.
This past year, SIDC didn’t submit an application for the historic tax credits. The team is discussing a possible submission for 2023. The application window opens in January.
At the city of Lexington, Tammy Absher, director of the Office of Business and Community Development, shared she has no updates about the school and doesn’t know what the Diocese is planning. Absher mentioned she’s heard they are in talks with a private school about the property.
For years, neighbors and citizens have expressed concerns regarding the condition of the building. Asked if the Diocese is in compliance with ordinances, Absher stated, “I believe so. As long as its secure and people cannot get into it so it’s not an attractive nuisance. You can close and secure a building as long as it’s not posing an imminent threat to those surrounding it and they’re maintaining the grounds. I haven’t heard of any complaints lately.”
Regarding the building being a perceived eyesore by many, Absher noted that state law is limited as far as what they can force a private property owner to do. “State laws don’t allow cities to regulate based on appearance. It has to be based on health, safety and welfare. We did an ordinance several years ago about boarded up windows in Uptown because there was special legislation that enabled it.”
Absher also expressed her thoughts about what could take place moving forward.
“I was wondering has the community come together to discuss it. I know there were talks at one time of churches going in to buy it. Based on what the Diocese has planned, it would be great if we could resurface some of that and maybe explore options.”
At the time of publication, we had yet to receive a statement or update on Dunbar School from the Catholic Diocese. We’ve since received one from Anthony Morlando, director of properties for the Catholic Diocese of Charlotte. His statement is below:
“The Biden administration recently announced its increased support for restoration and historic preservation projects. As you know the developer we had a purchase agreement with last year was unable to get the necessary federal funding to make his project work, but we have been in recent conversations with three different parties and are evaluating the possibilities. A couple of points:
Kathleen Turner with NC Preservation recently made us aware that the HUD “NOFA” (Notice of Funding Availability) was just released and was pleased to see that NC is positioned to be eligible for $176M in available HUD funds. (This substantially deepens the pool of funding developers can tap into.)
It’s important to the diocese to critically evaluate which party would best be able to restore and revitalize the Historic Dunbar School
We wish to engage with a partner that will respect and build upon the historic importance this building has within the community.
We feel the first step for whoever is selected is to immediately engage the local community in conversation to seek to understand community needs and to develop creative solutions together.”
