The long-awaited renovations to the V.O. Dobbins Community Center will begin in mid-January.
That word from Chris McCartt, Kingsport's Development Services Manager, who says, with the Board of Mayor and Aldermen's recent approval of the initial bond resolution for this project and others in the city, the 'hammer will fall on Dobbins at a fast clip now.'
The building renovation will transform one of Kingsport's most historic buildings into a center that will house most of the city's non-profit agencies under one roof.
"Right now, we're waiting for the bond market to show some favorable rates," McCartt says. "Those signs are getting better every day, and as soon as we feel comfortable with them, we'll go ahead and sell those bonds in order to have that cash available for all the capital projects we have in January."
BY THE NUMBERS: KINGSPORT ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FOR DEVELOPMENT CHRIS MCCARTT GOING OVER THE V.O. DOBBINS CENTER FIGURES
Renovations to the building that once housed Kingsport's all-black school, and the largest African-American school in the East Tennessee-Southwest Virginia region, are estimated to cost around $7.1 million dollars. "There is additional money that will roll over into the V.O. Dobbins project from some of the other capital projects that we project, will come in underbudget," says McCartt. "That will bring the total Dobbins renovation project to around $8.5 to $8.6 million dollars. It's a pretty sizeable capital project in itself."
The Dobbins/Douglass renovation will start with the demolition of the old school auditorium, which has stood mostly unused for years. Several years ago, the auditorium developed a serious water leak in the rear wall that has been neglected for years, which ultimately exposed a severe asbestos problem that was never addressed by city maintenance workers. The auditorium has only been used for a few public events, and the engineering firm in charge of architectural design, says the cost to bring it up to present city and state code, would require a sizeable chunk of the bond issue.
"The Douglass school is one of those special places," says McCartt, "and the auditorium is one of those special pieces of history. People can go back to their high school or middle school and there was always a common bond there. With some people, it was the gymnasium where they enjoyed sporting events.. with others, it was the auditorium which was home to oratorical contests, plays, concerts and ceremonies. We tried eagerly and aggressively to save the auditorium," McCartt says. "That part of the building has, not only the asbestos issues, but heating and cooling problems with a boiler that only heats, and a sinking floor to the right of the stage. We'll take it to the ground, fill in the gaps underneath, to form a foundation for the three-story tower."
Bids for demolition contractors are going out right now at the first weekend of December, and Mr. McCartt says the city will ask potential contractors to hold their estimates for 60 days, which he says will buy the city time to first, get the funding from the sale of the bonds in place, and second, be able to work with the community on a community-wide farewell event for the old building, and also a welcoming ceremony for the new, renovated structure. The end of that 60-day period will be the middle of February, and demolition will have started long before then.
That event will be similar to the one held last February, for the Historic Riverview Apartments. Many people and civic leaders turned out for that event, which was the last public gathering in Riverview for new developments planned for the neighborhood.
Because of the contractor schedule, there may need to be two events in mid-January. One for inside the auditorium, then one outside side for the actual start of the demolition. The Douglass Alumni website, Mr. McCartt says, will be the source of information for those planned events.
"There will be a considerable amount of flexibility for farewell public events to be built into the demolition contract," McCartt says. "We're willing to work with the community on the dates for those, but of course everything will depend on the contractor's schedule. He may want to get the auditorium down quickly, because it's important to see what he's butting up to, on the side of the building that will be left standing. That's also advantageous from a cost standpoint. At the same time, we will be running new electrical service to the building, and it's important to get that in place before the actual construction begins."
THE MIDDLE WING BETWEEN THE GYMNASIUM AND THE AUDITORIUM.. THE DOUGLASS ALUMNI ASSOCIATION WILL HAVE OFFICES IN WHAT WILL BE AN ATRIUM-CONFERENCE ROOM HERE
Although the American Red Cross backed out of what was thought to be a firm commitment to occupy space in the non-profit center, other tenants for the renovated building are firmly in place. "The Douglass Alumni Association will have office space on the first floor, in the atrium area between the gymnasium and the three-story tower," says McCartt. "Also on that floor will be the Upper East Tennessee Human Resources Agency (UETHRA) and the Neighborhood Services Center.. There's also be an office for Mountain Region Speech and Hearing on that fllor. On the second floor of the tower will be the United Way offices. Kingsport Tomorrow, Big Brothers-Big Sisters, the American Legion, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and the local ALS Society will all be on the third floor of the tower."
THE SECOND GYMNASIUM IS TO BE BUILT IN THEPARKING LOT BETWEEN THE OLD GYM AND LOUIS STREET
A second gymnasium, with offices for Kingsport Parks and Recrreation, is also on the drawing board, and is to be built between the present gym and Louis Street. Headstart, which has occupied the building since Douglass School closed in 1966, will be expanded to the back of the building where it is now, with additional classrooms and a separate drop-off entrance for children planned for the Wheatley Street side of the building.
"If there is a date that the community prefers for a celebration event," McCartt says, "we are more than willing to work with people on that and see how we can adjust our schedule on that. Obviously, residents are like the city people.. after so many promises and so long a time, they'd like to see something get started there, get the project moving, get some dirt turned and the project moving forward. I wouldn't want to see a celebration event while the workers are actually working on the building, so the best time would be just before the demolition begins."
