LEXINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) — A former school property in Lexington could soon have a new purpose.
The City of Lexington is considering investing $3 million to turn the former Dunbar High School into housing. The second of two community meetings was held on Thursday.
Leaders want to hear from community members before the city council takes up the matter next week.
At the meeting, community members got a chance to hear the plans for the former DHS if all goes well with investments.
This will be the third attempt to redevelop the property.
It was built in 1951. For more than a decade, it was the all-Black school for African American kids in Lexington until de-segregation.
The development agreement with developer Belmont Sayre would include the creation of 60 to 65 one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments on the property.
It would also include improvements to the auditorium, gymnasium, community meeting room, tennis court, playground and activity fields.
Lexington would contribute more than $3 million.
The agreement would also act as a long-term lease with the developer for public use of amenities like the meeting room and gym.
Stanley Reid lives in the neighborhood surrounding the former DHS. He attended the community meeting held on Tuesday and also attended Thursday’s meeting.
He said they were worried after plans for the old school did not come to fruition in the past.
Reid said after the community meetings, he feels hopeful about the future of the former school’s property.
“Everybody wants it to be utilized. It’s just a matter of getting it done … Get your hopes up, and then that doesn’t necessarily come to fruition. This is disheartening sometimes,” Reid said.
The Lexington City Council plans to hold a public hearing at its Aug. 26 meeting about the proposal.
Concerned citizens filled the pews in the St. Stevens United Methodist Church in Lexington Thursday night.
During Thursday’s meeting, community members got the chance to listen to plans from city leaders and development company Belmont Sayre.
“The city is proposing to redevelop. We are going to own the entire property and redevelop it on their behalf and … reuse the gymnasium and the auditorium,” Belmont Sayr President Kenneth Reiter said.
“There will be recreational activities taking place in the gym, and there will also be space for a police substation there,” Lexington City Manager Johnnie Taylor said.
It’s a project realtors like Jessica Pherson are excited about.
“Still definitely a huge lack of inventory. However, the properties are starting to sit a little more. With rates going down and rents going up, it’s very much in a transitional phase right now,” Pherson said.
Pherson says on average, her agents at Mantle Realty in Lexington are assisting three to four people per week who are searching for homes in the city.
Most of the buyers are between the ages of 30 and 50. While another apartment complex is helpful, Pherson says the work can’t stop there.
Project developers say construction will begin in April 2025, and they’ll spend the next 30 days finalizing the development agreement with the City of Lexington.
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