The century-old Parry McCluer Middle School building was among 10 historic places that were approved for inclusion in the Virginia Landmarks Register by the Commonwealth’s Board of Historic Resources at its quarterly public meeting on Sept. 18.
The VLR is the commonwealth’s official list of places of historic, architectural, archaeological and cultural significance. City officials nominated the structure for inclusion on this list so that, in the future, it would be eligible for state and federal historic tax credits, should it be rehabilitated for a new purpose.
The Department of Historic Resources is forwarding the documentation for the newly-listed VLR sites to the National Park Service for nomination to the National Register for Historic Places.
The building served as Parry McCluer High School from 1924 until 2001, when the present PMHS opened. Since then, PMMS has occupied the building, which also has a 1950s addition. The city schools’ administrative offices are also located in the building.
Kristina Ramsey, Buena Vista’s director of economic development, said the idea for nominating the building for inclusion on the historic registers originated with discussions on the future of the building. She said city leadership agreed that it would be “worthwhile to pursue nomination.”
These designations, she said, “help position the property for potential future rehabilitation or redevelopment, as they open the door to using state and federal historic tax credits which are a valuable tool that can make redevelopment more financially feasible for developers – it could potentially open the door to some financing and grant options as well.”
At this point, she continued, “No specific plans for reuse or redevelopment have been determined. However, securing these designations allows us to be ready when opportunities arise.”
Ramsey and Tom Roberts, the city’s director of community development, with approval from City Manager Jason Tyree, “initiated the nomination process, working with a local consultant, Dan Pezzoni, who has helped with all of our other designations in BV. This process requires gathering preliminary information and submitting nominations at both the state and federal levels.”
In announcing its inclusion on the state register, DHR noted that the building, “constructed in the Classical Revival architectural style with Modernist additions,” served as the “principal public school for White students in the city of Buena Vista beginning in 1924. The school opened to Black students in the mid-1960s after integration at Virginia’s public schools. The school library operated as the Buena Vista Public Library from 1948 to circa 1971.”
