Alumni take last shot at saving South Amherst Middle School from demolition

SOUTH AMHERST — Seeing his old high school torn down would break James Slack's heart. When he graduated in 1971, it was called South Amherst High School. Today, the 111-year-old building on the west side of town serves as Firelands' middle school — and it's likely to be demolished unless someone comes up with a plan fast. Slack and other alumni have formed the Old Sandstone School-House Project in hopes of preserving the building. They formed a board of directors Friday, have hired an attorney and are now seeking nonprofit status. "I would like to see something done with that building to serve the community. And I'd like to see the community to help determine that," Slack said in a phone interview Friday from his home in Alabama. By Thanksgiving, he wants to have a plan ready for the Firelands Board of Education that would keep the state Route 113 building standing and in use. There's no concrete business in mind to occupy what today is South Amherst Middle School, but Slack said it could be a civic center, senior center, free clinic, home to any number of companies or a mix. School board President Mike O'Keefe said the middle school's future hasn't been decided. What's certain is that it will no longer be needed next year when the new Firelands High School opens its doors, making room for all grades to be housed on the Vermilion Road campus. "We're weighing our options. We'd love to see it repurposed in some way," O'Keefe said — but if no viable plan is put forward, the building will not be allowed to sit there as a vacant eyesore. South Amherst village officials have turned down an offer to take ownership of the building for $1. "It adds up to economics," Mayor Dave Leshinski said. Even if acquired virtually for free, there would be legal costs and liability the village just can't shoulder, he said. Nor does he believe a proposal from Justin Lichter of Industrial Realty Group — the company that has long planned to develop portions of the former sandstone quarries — would pay off right now. "As far as repurposing that building, we all know it has some sort of potential," Leshinski said. "What it is, we don't know, and when it is, that might be the bigger question." Slack for years has been seeking help from the village to preserve the old building once its life as a school is over. Leshinski said the problem hasn't been whether the school is usable, but who would pay the significant bills to overhaul it. Slack is similarly frustrated on his end. He said the village and the South Amherst Historical Society "have demonstrated no capacity — and have expressed no realistic plan — for saving, preserving, and retasking the building." Neither has O'Keefe heard a presentation that brings all the right ingredients together, though there has been plenty of talk and a long executive session on the topic. Lichter has approached Superintendent Mike Von Gunten with ideas, but no proposal yet, he said. "We haven't really gotten anything solid from anybody about that property," O'Keefe said Friday. Slack, a retired professor who has taught public administration at several universities in the South, said there are options, and grant and historic preservation tax credits to help pay for them. He wants to open the door for developers to submit proposals. If a company like Sprenger Health Care — which turned the long-vacant Central School in Amherst into a thriving senior living center using state tax credits — had come forward, that might have been a possibility, Leshinski said. While many have expressed interest in the building, none have floated a workable way to pay for it, he said. Firelands doesn't necessarily have time to wait for developers to step forward, O'Keefe said. The new school is on track to open in August, and the district is on a deadline to let its construction team know whether South Amherst Middle School will be demolished. "People are interested in keeping it. The village really can't do anything with it," he said. "That leaves us in a strange position. But I can tell you it won't sit empty. We promised people we wouldn't let it just sit there for years, and we like to keep our promises." The Firelands Board of Education plans to make a final decision by the end of the year, he said. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.