Another Offer for the Madison Heights School

The News & Advance
Published: September 4, 2008

After several near brushes with the wrecking ball over the past 20 years, the old school on Phelps Road in Madison Heights has appealed to yet another offer for new life. It’s an offer with the potential to get the building — or a renovated portion of it — back on the tax rolls of Amherst County.

Dennis Gibbs, a California developer with an interest in preserving old buildings, has approached the county Board of Supervisors with a proposal to revive the old school.

Gibbs and his wife are no strangers to the region. They own the old Jones Memorial Library building and the Villa Maria estate on Rivermont Avenue in Lynchburg, along with the former Adams Motor Co. Property on Fifth Street. They also own Dulwich Manor Bed & Breakfast in Amherst.

The self-described “preservationist” said he doesn’t have a plan yet for the old school, but he has decided it is worth saving. “I don’t go into these things with a particular idea,” he said recently. “I go in to save the building.”

The supervisors indicated their willingness last month to give the building to Gibbs as long as mutual obligations are met. Gibbs has 60 days to research the title of the building and any possible liabilities that may exist on the property, according to the board’s agreement.

The governing body was nearly ready to demolish the building last fall, but a group of former students stepped up to say that the old building still had a purpose to serve. Until 1957, the building constructed in the 1920s served as the Madison Heights High School. It has undergone a number of renovations and expansions and was most recently used as the elementary school that served the south end of the county.

Previous proposals for the old structure have included renovating it for use as a community center, housing for the elderly and an incubator of sorts for small businesses. None of them made it off the drawing board.

Gibbs said he contacted the county about his interest in the building because he didn’t want to see it torn down, and believed he could serve as a bridge to some future use. He asked the county if it would be willing to help him acquire loans from financial institutions, if necessary, for repairs and demolition of a portion of the building.

The developer said he would also be willing to negotiate parking and office space for the sheriff’s department. County Administrator Rodney Taylor said that would give sheriff’s deputies more of a presence in that area of Madison Heights.

Ownership of the building would revert to the county should the renovation not take place, the agreement approved by the supervisors says. No money would be exchanged in the transfer of ownership.

Property taxes levied on the old school would be waived until renovation is completed or for a maximum of four years from the time of the ownership transfer, whichever comes first.

The gift of the building to Gibbs has the real potential not only of creating new life for the old school, but it could expand the tax base and, depending on what he does with it, create new jobs. If it pans out, it’s a good deal for the county and its taxpayers.