“Maury was built to make a statement,” Louis Wilson, a 1960 graduate, recalled. “And it does.”

Maury High School is known for its architecture with its stately columns, blue and white terra cotta accents and the front steps that alumni remember walking up every day. Built in 1911, the school is a prominent feature of the Ghent neighborhood.

Now the school division is trying to decide if Maury will be modernized for “21st century learners” or torn down and rebuilt. This process has been underway for years with a decision expected this year.

HBA Architecture and Interior Design presented four options, two to renovate and two to rebuild. There has been a strong push for the second option. Just before the board was set to vote on a concept, an unsolicited bid was submitted — one that might allow the division to keep Maury as a piece of Norfolk history and build a new school.

The school board received an unsolicited bid, the existence of which was made public’ prior to the Dec. 7 public hearing. On Dec. 14, the matter was included in the board’s agenda for closed session. School Board Chair Carlos Clanton said this proposal is not public yet, and the board still needs to vote on it. Until then, any decisions on the direction the school division goes in has been postponed. However, he told the Virginian-Pilot that the “gist” of the bid is “you can actually save the building ... and still do all the other things that you need to do.”

Clanton, who graduated from Maury, remembers attending the 100th anniversary celebration in 2011. He said everyone had been gathered on those front steps for the ceremony. The next day, a bit of the exterior fell where people had been standing.

Maury is one of the oldest schools in Virginia and the oldest high school in Norfolk. As fondly as many of Maury’s alumni from over more than a century remember their years inside the building, time has taken its toll.

Architects over the years have pointed out where water has eroded and rusted parts of the exterior. The terra cotta has cracked, showing the supports underneath. In 2014, a portion of the auditorium ceiling fell during a band concert. More problems with water leaks were reported by the Virginian-Pilot in 2018.

Last fall, the school division sought out input on whether the school should be renovated or demolished and rebuilt. Four plans were rolled out, two for each option, and HBA Architects came back before the school board to recommend one of the options to rebuild.

Michael Ross with HBA Architecture, who has been coming before the Norfolk school board for several years already, said the four-story replacement concept would cost an estimated $158 million. It was ranked low by architects and planners when it came to honoring the school’s tradition, but it also ranked high on many other categories such as safety and adaptability for learning communities.

The renovation options cost anywhere from $160 million to $182 million, including upkeep costs. One option moved students into portable classrooms while work was being done, which Clanton noted as an additional expense. Another would essentially add on to the existing building, which would preserve the historical aspects, but concerns regarding declining enrollment and excessive space were also raised.

Ross said many of those who attended community engagement sessions supported the option in which a new four-story school would be built and the original building would be knocked down after everything was transferred to the new structure. A public survey asking participants if they agreed with this option received nearly 900 responses, more than 70% of them saying they supported Maury being rebuilt.

However, community members at the public hearing were overwhelmingly against that and criticized the division’s process so far for not have true community engagement and for not preserving a piece of Norfolk history.

These speakers reflected on the building’s value to the Ghent community and asked the board to consider other options. A letter from the Norfolk Preservation Collective offered suggestions like using historic tax credits to renovate, similar to how other educational facilities have done in the past.

Scott Sharrow, president of the West Ghent Civic League, said he has reached out to Clanton and the board on behalf of 10 civic leagues. During the public hearing, he criticized the lack of communication and the low turnout for the community engagement sessions. He said a “media strategy” is not true community engagement.

Later, Clanton said every effort was made to invite the community to those sessions. This included press releases, a dedicated page on the division’s website and more. He said what feedback they have received, “the board is taking those things into consideration.” Approximately 50 people attended these meetings last fall.

Skip Stiles, the parent of one Maury graduate and one current student, explained how over the years, he grew familiar with morning texts saying the heat was out in the building and students should wear warm clothes in certain areas. He said his children had texted him saying the internet had gone down, so they couldn’t do their classwork — that had happened just about a week before the public hearing. He shared other concerns regarding the current building.

He also said when he asked his children what they thought should happen to Maury, they said, “Get rid of it.”

Wilson said she attended one of the community engagement sessions with a letter she hoped to share but was surprised to be told she would not be able to. Instead, she was told there were presentations and questionnaires for participants that night. When she did hear about the options, she said she felt that the renovation options were not presented as viable options moving forward.

“It was made clear what their bias was — absolutely clear,” Wilson said.

Critics of the process so far not only feel left out of the decision making but feel that there are still many unanswered questions.

Former director of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority Jim Gehman said based on conversations he has heard, he is not sure “the renovation option has not really gotten a good hearing.”

He recalled going through an extensive process for each project the redevelopment authority took on, which involved bringing in community members and businesses to share their thoughts and perspectives with planners and developers.

“They all have something to say, different perspectives, and planners have ways accommodating those needs,” he said. “That just has not been a part of the process.”

Back in the spring of 2018, the school started looking into what they needed to do with Maury. Community meetings, school tours and interviews with division and Maury staff. Eastern Virginia Medical School was invited as well, as the high school is home to the division’s medical and health specialties program. Through that process, they determined there was a need for more modern facilities. Still, the hope was to be able to build on tradition.

Gehman added that the numbers for the historical tax credits, as they were presented to the board, don’t make sense to him.

Maury was determined to be eligible for the Virginia Landmark Register in 1996. A survey from that time stated the building’s condition was excellent and noted the school’s significance as “Norfolk’s first and grandest high school building.” However, it never went through the process to actually make the historical register.

If the school board decides to go the renovation route, the building could be eligible for historical tax credits. HBA explained that depending on the option that was chosen, the state credits could potentially total to approximately $7 million. Ross also explained that because the school does not generate its own income, it is not eligible for federal historic rehabilitation tax credits. Also, the estimated inflation for construction costs would be “eaten up,” Clanton said.

However, other schools in the state have found a way around this. Senior architectural historian at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources Marc Wagner said that it takes some creativity, but it is possible to renovate historic schools using these federal tax credits.

For example, he said the Maggie L. Walker High School, which first opened in the 30s, was able to use the federal tax credits to renovate the art deco structure that had once been in poor shape. The city transferred the building to developers and because they had an income, they were able to use the tax credits. Once the work was done, the school was transferred back.

“(The city’s) not going to get any of those benefits,” Wagner said. “What they’re going to end up with is a fully renovated school.”

He added that it is a complicated process to go through, but with historical tax credit experts, it could be possible.

There could be several possibilities for the building if it were saved. An apartment complex in the Colonial Place neighborhood were once the J.E.B. Stuart School, which was built in 1920, nearly a decade after Maury was built. The school closed in 2009, and it was announced in 2020 that they would become apartments.

Wilson, who went to Stuart, said she had been so impressed with how the school had been concerted after falling into disrepair. She had been thrilled to see the bit of history preserved. Especially since she believes Norfolk is not in the habit of saving its history.

Clanton estimates a final decision on what option the school division will go in will be made by the end of the school year. Still, he said the division is working to be as transparent as possible.

“As we continue to have responsible and respectful discourse going through this process, nobody’s ignoring anybody,” Clanton said. “This isn’t anything that’s been rushed. This has been in the works since 2015, and we’re finally getting to this particular point.”

That is just to choose the concept. Architectural plans, more community engagement and actually construction are still a ways off.

Kelsey Kendall, kelsey.kendall@virginiamedia.com