NORFOLK, Va. — Walking into the cafeteria at Maury High School in Norfolk's Ghent community, it's easy to see that the 112-year-old building is in need of repair.
But a new page is turning for the school.
Thursday night, parents, teachers and community members packed the cafeteria at Maury High School where developers presented a proposed design—it includes a four-story structure along 20th Street and a two-story adjoining building on Llewellyn Avenue.
Watch: What's next for Maury High? Parents tell board school building is 'crumbling'
The proposal also includes an optional natatorium, a community garden, a storm water park and walking trails and moves the fields.
According to the very preliminary plans, a completion date would come in the Fall of 2028 and comes with a price tag of nearly $180 million.
The plan is still early in the design.
Thursday night's meeting gave the public an opportunity to submit feedback to the district and developers.
Watch: NPS to hold Community Engagement Meeting for proposed school building update
"My concern is traffic on Shirley Avenue," said Marilyn Gowen, who lives nearby. "I'm concerned about the kids going back and forth on Llewellyn."
The history of the current building came into conversation during Thursday's presentation.
Marcy Mostofsky, who attended the meeting, said her dad went to Maury High School.
"There's a lot of history in this building from segregation to, you know, where it is now, and we have to preserve the history of this school," she told News 3's Jay Greene.
Davon Olds, who's an assistant coach for track & field at Maury, also watched the presentation.
"Looking on the outside, you can see the bars at the top of the building because bricks are starting to fall," Olds told Greene.
Olds believes saving the historic structure isn't the best use of this space.
Watch: School board unanimously votes to build new Maury High School in Norfolk
"Saying we're going to keep this and disregard all the other programs who could truly benefit from this space," Olds said. "It's selfish in itself."
The plans presented in part by Robert Hudson, the vice president of Heartland Construction, keep the current building in place with demolition to sections that were added on to the primary historic structure.
"The community made it pretty clear that the preservation of historic Maury was of the utmost importance. So our team came together with a vision to preserve the historic Maury and also fit this state-of-the-art high School on this site as it is now," Hudson told Greene in an interview following the presentation. "So the most challenging part was trying to figure out how to fit all the parts and pieces into the program so that we meet all the needs of the students, staff and community with the limited space that we have."
One PPEA proposal includes turning the current structure into housing, according to Norfolk School Board Member Carlos Clanton.
"When we think of Norfolk, and our affordable housing challenges, I think that's a great use," Clanton said.
Watch: Alumni push for a new Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk
Clanton graduated from Maury High in 1998.
"I really advocated and championed for trying to find a medium, a way that we could preserve a historical building for our community, but then also we provide a state-of-the-art facility for our students moving forward," Clanton said.
Hudson told Greene it could be a year and half before construction begins though any schedule could change.
Developers and planners said the construction would happen in four phases:
- Phase 1: construct fence around the football field and practice field; construct fence around fields across Lewellyn
- Phase 2: construct new softball field; construct storm water and walking paths; construct fence around the north side of the Maury site; construct new baseball field, soccer field, and parking across Llewellyn; construct fence around the remaining triangular site across Llewellyn
- Phase 3: construct new Maury High School; constuct parking and bus loop; construct new tennis courts; construct fence around the historic building
- Phase 4: construct football field/multi-sport playing-field; demolish non-historic parts of the existing Maury
Community members like Marilyn Gowen said it's time for a new school.
"I fully agree with the best school that this place can build for these students," Gowen said. "They need that, and they cannot do that in this old school."
