Kaine to tour area today

Gov. Timothy Kaine’s daylong visit to Staunton and Augusta County today will include further details regarding the renovation and new use for the old R.E. Lee High School on Churchville Avenue.

The announcement regarding the project will be made as Kaine winds up his day at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center with a reception at about 5:45 p.m.

The Staunton City Council gave its unanimous approval in September for a special use permit for the facility’s renovation.

Octagon Partners, the developer of the Gypsy Hill Place project, was given the OK to transform the old high school and Guardian Angel Academy to a facility that will house 70 independent living apartments for seniors, a home base for the Staunton Senior Center and a new location for the ShenanArts Theater.

When approval was given, the City Council said a new turf parking lot would be created on the former athletic field in front of the building.

Staunton City Councilman Bruce Elder said members of council are excited about a new location for the senior center.

“We’ve been wanting to expand senior programs for some time,’’ Elder said. “We have a growing over-65 population and this will be a wonderfully centrally located facility.”

An exact timetable for the project is only known by the developer, said Bill Hamilton, Staunton’s economic development director.

The building was last used by Guardian Angel Academy, a Catholic school that closed in summer 2007 upon orders of the Richmond Diocese.

Kaine and members of his cabinet will start their day at 10:45 a.m. with a tour of the new exercise trail at Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center.

Upon arriving in Staunton, Kaine will travel to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum for a luncheon and tour.

Later in the day at 2 p.m., Kaine will tour the Blackfriars Theatre, followed by a 3:45 p.m. visit to Delta Springs Farm in Mount Solon. The farm is an environmentally sensitive poultry and cattle farm.

The visit for Community Cabinet Day will be capped by a reception for Kaine and his cabinet at the Stonewall Jackson.