THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — Demolition is underway for the Old Kern Street School that has been sitting abandoned for years in Thomasville after two fires destroyed the roof.
Now the area is coming back to life and will, hopefully, be a place for families to move in.
“Housing is necessary in every community that we live in,” Assistant City Manager for the City of Thomasville Eddie Bowling said.
The school is no longer a nuisance to the area.
What’s going to be left of it are bricks on the ground.
“Every neighborhood in our community is super important to us, and we want to see neighborhoods flourish,” Bowling said.
The City of Thomasville will replace the abandoned building with a small kids’ park and approximately 14 houses.
The goal is to build three bedrooms, two baths, 1,230 square foot homes on each lot that will be affordable for families.
“It’s almost impossible to find an inexpensive rent … Used to rent was a cheaper alternative to having a home. You could rent a lot less than what it would cost to be a homeowner, and that’s really not the case now,” Executive Director at Home Solutions of Davidson County Toby Prince said.
With the houses coming to the neighborhood, market value will increase.
“We want to include properties that would encompass everyone to want to come and move to Thomasville,” Bowling said.
Demolition should wrap up in the next six weeks.
The city expects that construction on the houses will start as soon as demolition is complete.
