‘A dream project’: Developers to breathe new life into old high school

STAUNTON – Rita Wilson vowed she would stay on the Staunton City Council until the city found a new home for its vagabond seniors program.

And though Wilson retired after more than 16 years on the council, she continued her work on behalf of the city’s seniors through the Valley Program for Aging Services. Now, those seniors have a new home.

Octagon Partners of Charlottesville, a five-year old company, publicly unveiled Thursday – in front of an audience at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel that included Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine – its plans for the former R.E. Lee High School on Churchville Avenue.

Gypsy Hill Place, when finished in late 2009, will, in the 110,000 square foot former school, host the Staunton Senior Center, the ShenanArts Theater and provide 70 independent living apartments for seniors.

“I’m glad to see this,” Wilson said. “I just think the time has come that we have our own senior center for our people.”

J.P. Williamson, a founding partner with Octagon Partners, said this is the company’s first project in Staunton after having worked on four adaptive reuse projects in Charlottesville. He said the design of the building converts well to apartments and will be able to create a sense of community.

“It fits up well for a segregation of uses all within the same building,” Williamson said.

With work expected to start in Feb. 2009, the project is expected to cost between $18 million and $20 million, to be financed through a combination of traditional financing and tax credits. The company has secured $12 million in New Market Tax Credits, with United Bank providing the remaining money – approximately $8.4 million. The project’s funding will be used along with state and federal historic tax credits.

Williamson said the building’s interior would be modernized, with plans for a new heating and air conditioning system, modern electrical and plumbing systems and a sprinkler system. It also has to remove the asbestos from the building.

“We basically keep the bones of the building, which is all concrete and marble and a slate roof, which you couldn’t build today,” Williamson said. “It’s cost-prohibitive.”

Staunton Economic Development Director Bill Hamilton said the financing of the project was key.

“You could not do this project without a combination of the historic tax credits and the New Market Tax Credits,” Hamilton said.

Staunton Councilman Bruce Elder said the renovation would provide a good home for an increasingly aging population.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for Staunton,” Elder said. “It’s another landmark building being restored, being properly reused. It’s going to take care of housing for, of course, a growing population in Staunton.”