Old Watauga High School development article

[moonshine]

Can ASU raise the $18.9m to purchase old WHS with the ongoing capital campaign? What's the cost of tearing down the school compared to dealing with asbestos? If App were to purchase it, could the land not be used for sports, academics and student housing? Would the commercial use still apply?

[Kgfish]

Can ASU raise the $18.9m to purchase old WHS with the ongoing capital campaign? What's the cost of tearing down the school compared to dealing with asbestos? If App were to purchase it, could the land not be used for sports, academics and student housing? Would the commercial use still apply?

The school sold them the Edminstein farm property where the new HS was built. Should have worked a swap.

[AppinVA]

I have a feeling the county may be more willing to sell the school the property to the school, now that the town has screwed them over. Neither the town nor the county will not get tax revenue off of the property while its owned by either the county or App State, but the county will get the one time payment from the school, and it will keep money completely out of the hands of the town. The county may be willing to screw themselves over a little, in order to screw the town over a lot.

[moehler]

the town really looks bad, they need to respond in the local media and explain their position. Personally, from what you guys are saying, the county feels betrayed and is pissed, and you cant blame them. It appears to me that until the County and the town sit down and reach a compromise this land its never going to get sold, and thats a real shame, becouse Boone really needs afortable housing, or if not used for this purpose, App certainly could use the land.

[Kgfish]

the town really looks bad, they need to respond in the local media and explain their position. Personally, from what you guys are saying, the county feels betrayed and is pissed, and you cant blame them. It appears to me that until the County and the town sit down and reach a compromise this land its never going to get sold, and thats a real shame, becouse Boone really needs afortable housing, or if not used for this purpose, App certainly could use the land.

Don't know how much Boone needs affordable housing. Building permits have been almost non existent in Boone for 5 years. There is new student housing complex going up off 105 on the ridge across form the Dodge dealership. It is the single largest building project in Watauga County history.

http://www2.wataugademocrat.com/News/st ... -id-007069

[GlassOnion]

Don't know how much Boone needs affordable housing. Building permits have been almost non existent in Boone for 5 years. There is new student housing complex going up off 105 on the ridge across form the Dodge dealership. It is the single largest building project in Watauga County history.

http://www2.wataugademocrat.com/News/st ... -id-007069

Its not easy to build in any place anymore, but some places are just getting ridiculous. If they'd just relax the restrictions, the private developers would fill the need, prices would go down.

$600 for a freakin bedroom? Sheesh, thats about $3,000 for a 5 bedroom.

Let them build more of these little "communities," the prices will drop. Its the students that are getting stuck with the results, and its families that are getting pushed into the county.

Part of this I believe, is an attempt at making Boone "more exclusive."

[appelect]

The old school has already been torn down....

[fjblair]

The town has not necessarily killed the deal. The high school project is exempt from most of the new standards because it is to be mixed use. However the rules now require the commercial phase to come before the housing phase. They want to prevent being sold a pig in a poke where the developer builds the housing and bails on the commercial/business phase. We'll see what happens. If the project blows up then the town council looks stupid again.

Either way the town leadership is incompetent and made to look foolish over and over.