Tri-Township Schools’ facilities plans have left some unanswered questions for preservation experts. The school corporation has proposed closing the 105-year-old LaCrosse school building and moving high school classes to an expanded Wanatah School.
But Todd Zeiger with Indiana Landmarks says there are some questions about whether that might end up costing the school corporation more money over time than the figure presented last week. “There is no money put into this proposal to maintain or do any repairs to the existing building, and so generally what happens is then that building just sits there and will deteriorate,” Zeiger says. “It needs work now. There’s no money in for any repair or maintenance. They said there was no money in it for demolition and so the question becomes, ‘Well, what happens to that building?’”
Design-build firm Performance Services estimated that adding five classrooms to the Wanatah School would cost between $2.7 and $3.5 million, depending on options, while renovating the LaCrosse building would cost almost $6.6 million. But Zeiger isn’t sure that’s an apples-to-apples comparison. “The numbers that are presented for the rehab are certainly what they are, but that would produce, let’s say, 20,000 square feet of usable space in the existing building and site. The numbers that were presented for the new build would only add 8,000 square feet of space,” Zeiger says.
He notes that the plans don’t leave much room financially for additional expansion without issuing more bonds. School officials are proposing to continue using the LaCrosse Tiger Den as the main competition gym, but Zeiger says that without a plan for the rest of the building, high school athletic facilities might have to be added in Wanatah eventually.
Zeiger argues that renovating and continuing to use the LaCrosse building as a school is a better option, not just for the preservation of the building but also for the Town of LaCrosse. “Taking the energy away from that small community – that school’s an important community asset and it’s a beloved landmark, as was evident by as many people that were there at the meeting. And that’s an important consideration, just from a community standpoint, that connection.”
Zeiger says school officials haven’t reached out to Indiana Landmarks, but the organization is willing to partner with them to bring in an architect that’s familiar with historic building renovations to take a second look at the cost estimates.
School officials will hold a second informational meeting on their proposal tonight at 6:00 in the Tiger Den at LaCrosse High School.
