Guilford County government acquired the former Erwin Montessori School late last year and now the county is planning to reduce it to rubble – completing a job that a tornado started years ago for the now unused old school on East Bessemer Avenue.
In 2018, the school – along with two other schools in the city – was badly damaged by a tornado, and the school has been abandoned ever since.
After exploring multiple options for the aging facility, county staff have now decided that the best move is to demolish the existing structures on the property and prepare the site for future development.
The county’s Facilities Department came up with a plan that includes “asbestos abatement, building demolition [and] rough grading and site stabilization.”
Last month, Guilford County facilities staff examined eight proposals, seven of which were considered viable. A county staff committee ranked those proposals based on “pricing, ability to safely execute the work, availability of contractor resources, proximity to the work site and MWBE participation.”
After that process, the well-known Guilford County-based company DH Griffin was selected as the best contractor to carry out the job. Over the years, DH Griffin has taken down a host of large, small and medium sized structures around Guilford County and across the country.
The committee found that DH Griffin “has the experience to properly remediate the asbestos on site and the capability to quickly execute the demolition work in a safe manner,” and that the company also has the “adequate resources to quickly mobilize.”
The committee also liked the fact that DH Griffin is headquartered in Guilford County.
In recent years, Guilford County has been focused on getting more minority- and women-owned companies on every construction and demolition job, and DH Griffin has a goal of 43 percent MWBE participation for this project.
DH Griffin has offered to bring the building down for $524,000, and the Guilford County Board of Commissioners is expected to accept that offer when the commissioners get together for their next regular meeting on Thursday, Aug. 1.
The board is expected to approve a contract for a higher number given the possibility of unforeseen problems that might pop up during the actual performance of the demolition, as well as other factors.
After the demolition is complete, any unused funds will be returned to Guilford County.
According to county documents, as part of the project, Duke Energy will need to relocate a power distribution line that runs across the property.
Because Guilford County is requesting that the company move the power line as part of the site clearance process, the county is responsible for paying for that relocation. The move of the line is expected to run about $11,000.
With the relocation of that line and the contingency funds for the demolition job, the commissioners are allocating a total of $576,400 for the project.
Usually, when the county buys a piece of property, the commissioners have a pretty good idea how they plan to use it. However, last October, the Board of Commissioners decided to purchase this building from the school system with no determinate plans for it.
At that time, Guilford County Commissioner Frankie Jones said there were no hard and fast plans for the structure but the county would take feedback as to what would be the highest and best use of the old school.
The board had been considering buying the school for a long time before that; however, in October of 2023, the board voted to direct staff to enter into a contract to purchase the building and the surrounding nine acres for $100,000.
At that time, Jones and other commissioners hinted that the building could end up as a sort of “community center” or a “workforce development center,” and members of the public had all sorts of other ideas for it as well – such as making it a skating rink, a recreation center, a Black Farmer’s Market, a retail shop hub or an apartment complex.
Since the building was owned by Guilford County Schools, the Board of Commissioners – after the school system decided to sell the property – had first right of refusal before the school system could sell it to anyone else.
The building was deemed unsafe for occupancy by the Guilford County Board of Education years ago.
Early in the process, the Board of Commissioners considered fixing it up to use as a homeless shelter or a drug rehab center, however, those plans were soon dead in the water.
I look forward to enjoying the subscription and being kept informed of what is happening in
Greensboro and thru out the county. I’ve found the article to be interesting and informative.
As new to to the area the publication has been a valuable resource.
I encourage you to continue the detailed research and reporting.
Venard
I feel that this should be a development for affordable housing (preferably an apartment complex). There are too many people in Guilford County alone that are homeless. Therefore, building an apartment complex should be a no brainer to those involved in the decision making of this long overdue project.
Michelle Greensboro had a large rent subsidy
(section 8) apartment complex , Smith Homes that was recently torn down. It was renovated several years ago with new windows, a/c and heat, new water heaters and roof replacement. The whole complex could have easily accommodated a couple hundred homeless folks. No one seems to know why it was demolished or where everyone who lived moved to.