Staunton's newest historic rehab project has entered a new phase. Contractors have started transforming an iconic school building into apartments and the home of two non-profits.
To generations of Stauntonians, Gypsy Hill Place will always be R.E. Lee, the city's only high school until 1983. Some of them have a chance to make their alma mater their home.
Contractors are nearly finished with inside demolition and this week turned their attention toward giving the landmark new life. Mathers Construction is turning old classrooms into one- and two-bedroom apartments, and the old gymnasium into a restaurant and year-round garden spot.
What used to be the Lee High wood and metal shop will become the Staunton Senior Center. The project will also include common areas, and space for activities and special events.
Gypsy Hill Place General Manager Dave Taibl shared, "Our architects are constantly evolving the plan to adapt this space to meet the need. We've got plenty of square footage to really flesh out our plan, so the challenge is just keeping up with an ambitious schedule."
That schedule calls for the first residents to move in June 2010. Senior Center programs and the ShenanArts Theater should follow sometime next summer.
Gypsy Hill Place on Churchville Avenue will have 62 senior apartments and about a dozen are already reserved. Part of the $20 million project is financed by historic tax credits. That means the finished building will look much as it did when the doors first opened in 1927. |
