Hoover officials almost ready to demolish part of old Bluff Park school

Hoover school officials say they are almost ready to proceed with the demolition of some of the old Bluff Park Elementary School.

Parts of the building, most recently known as the Artists on the Bluff facility, were deemed unsafe or outdated, and school officials determined it’s better to tear them down rather than try to repair and rebuild them. Those parts include an L-shaped group of classrooms in the rear of the property and a two-story classroom addition on the right side of the building as you face it from Park Avenue, said Matt Wilson, the school district’s operations coordinator.

School officials do not plan to tear down the oldest part of the building, which is in the front and includes a small office, four classrooms and a cafetorium and kitchen, Wilson said. Part of the old school was built in 1923, he said.

Superintendent Kathy Murphy said school officials certainly recognize the historical value of that part of the building, so they plan to renovate it instead.

Wilson said school officials could be ready to seek bids on the demolition work in March. Demolition should take 10 weeks and would be followed immediately by about eight months of renovation work, he said. He hopes to start renovation work in July and have it completed by April 2021, he said.

The total budget for demolition and renovation work is $2.1 million, and Wilson said he believes they can get the job done under that budget amount.

Murphy said school officials have not yet determined uses for the renovated space, but it’s possible that student services personnel could end up there. They currently have offices at Brock’s Gap Intermediate School.

School officials also continue to evaluate the need to add more classroom space for the newer Bluff Park Elementary, which Murphy said is about 95 percent full. Officials had plans drawn up for an eight-classroom addition, but that addition was placed on hold as student numbers appeared to stabilize.

A developer’s efforts to build a new subdivision with 47 houses off Savoy Street has spurred renewed talk about that addition. Putting students in the soon-to-be newly renovated classrooms is an option, but the separation between the historic building and the newer school troubles school officials from a safety and logistics standpoint, Murphy said.