Demolition of Leon County Schools’ old SAIL, Lincoln buildings begins

Beginning this week, all that’s left of a historic college campus-turned-security hazard is superior university memories.

Major machinery commenced demolishing the old SAIL Significant School structures on Macomb Avenue on Thursday morning.

Previous scholar Robert Alexander Lee identified as the demolition “heartbreaking.”

“I will under no circumstances neglect SAIL, the people I satisfied there and how it gave me one more chance to graduate,” Lee said. 

The outdated structures of SAIL High University, now positioned on Jackson Bluff Street, have been sitting down empty considering that 2007, reported college board member Rosanne Wood, the previous principal of SAIL. 

There were cracks in the partitions, and there was a harmful condition with incredibly higher concrete ceilings in the media heart and the gym, she mentioned. It could possibly look like the campus just desires paint, but it requires structural repair service.

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“I can’t picture the variety of dollars that would have to be invested to update the university to a safe problem,” she explained.

The Leon County School Board made a decision to demolish the constructing this spring for the reason that of safety concerns. The land will later be marketed, and the $200,000 price of the demolition will be tacked onto the sale.

“I went to function there each day for 32 years and it felt like dwelling to lots of of us,” Wooden mentioned in a Fb put up. “Having said that, it has been still left to deteriorate because 2007, and it is now a catastrophe ready to come about.”

The structures ended up component of the original Lincoln Large College in Frenchtown in 1959, which later shut in 1967. 

The properties then grew to become house to the Different Finding out Center in 1975, which was renamed to the School for Used Individualized Studying in 1978. 

Only the previous SAIL Higher Faculty structures will be demolished. The Lincoln Middle, the brick developing created in 1929, is nonetheless in use by nonprofits and hosts senior citizen and right after school programs.

Bricks from the aged SAIL Significant University will be saved to make a memorial commemorating the faculty campus’ background.

“I can actually say that I would not have a high college diploma experienced it not been for this college, its lecturers and the support I received as a youth,” reported Paula Bacon, a 2001 SAIL graduate. 

Make contact with Ana Goñi-Lessan at [email protected] and adhere to her on Twitter @goni_lessan.