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Council To Vote On Historic Status For Wilmore School

Wilmore Elementary School opened in 1925. It's owned by Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and is proposed for historic status.
CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION

The Charlotte City Council is scheduled to vote Monday night whether to grant historic landmark status to the old Wilmore Elementary School on West Boulevard.  

The building, which opened in 1925, is owned by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, though it's no longer used as a school.  The county's Historic Landmarks Commission supports the designation, noting that it was the only school built in a working-class neighborhood that dates from 1906.   

A public hearing last month attracted no speakers, although the head of the neighborhood association sent a statement supporting the move.  The hearing had been deferred twice while the council sought answers to key questions. One was whether the designation would apply to both the original 1925 building and later additions - it would. The other was whether the old school and the 3.3 acres it sits on could still be used for affordable housing, even if it's designated as historic - also a yes.

The council convenes at 5 p.m.

RELATED LINKS

Charlotte Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission web page on the Wilmore Elementary School

May 21, 2018, City Council agenda page, with documents related to the historic designation for Wilmore Elementary

David Boraks previously covered climate change and the environment for WFAE. See more at www.wfae.org/climate-news. He also has covered housing and homelessness, energy and the environment, transportation and business.