Buncombe County leaders are showing interest in the former home of Asheville Primary School on Haywood Road in West Asheville.
The Asheville City Board of Education voted to close the school in December 2021, citing maintenance needs and financial challenges.
“The building primarily is being used for storage right now. We do have a few offices, our maintenance department is housed in Asheville Primary School right now,” Asheville City Schools Public Information Officer Dillon Huffman said.
Included in the board of education’s meeting agenda for Feb. 6 is an item to discuss the future of Asheville Primary School. A document attached to the agenda states, “the county would like to pursue possible acquisition of this site.” It adds a meeting has been requested between Buncombe County leaders and Asheville City Schools.
“There’s a list of things where we’re eager to talk with any partners about facility usage and opportunities for collaboration and partnership as we move forward,” Buncombe County Commissioner Jasmine Beach-Ferrara said.
According to Beach-Ferrara, the county is in the early stages of the process. Some potential uses for the property include expanding EMS services or adding additional pre-k classes through the creation of a pre-k hub of 15 to 25 classrooms.
“It just allows you to serve more people, to do so with an efficient use of resources that have as much impact as possible,” she said.
“When you have a building in the downtown area that’s centrally located near where a lot of people live and work, near public transportation we can probably find a highest best use that’s going to respond to real community needs,” Beach-Ferrara added.
As it stands now, the building has a list of maintenance needs. In January 2021, during conversations about closing the school, Asheville City Schools cited a Five Year Needs Assessment for the building that found close to $6 million in needed work, including windows, the electrical system, water and sewer lines, and an HVAC system replacement.
The school system’s public information officer confirmed the needs of the building have not changed since that assessment.
The Asheville City Board of Education is expected to start the discussion during a board meeting Monday night. Any other discussions with county leaders will be scheduled after that.