Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Jordan school to be preserved

Opened in 1925, the building was the second school for black children in St. Petersburg. Grants will pay for renovations.

By JON WILSON
Published November 20, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - A $3-million facelift is planned to enhance the building that housed historic Jordan Elementary School and preserve the structure as a Midtown landmark.

Plans for the building, in Midtown's heart at 2390 Ninth Ave. S, include developing a comprehensive child development center, officials say.

The Pinellas County School Board is expected to donate the property to the St. Petersburg city government, which has accumulated grants to begin paying for the renovation.

"We have started that process. We have to do X number of things," said Tony Rivas, the school system's facilities director.

The board will talk about the transfer next month, Rivas said.

A Head Start program, which has operated in the building since the school district vacated it in 1983, will remain and become a major part of the development center.

Head Start serves youngsters from low-income families. It currently operates in a wing of the building and in portables on the property.

The goal is to move the program into the first floor of the old Jordan building, officials say.

Meanwhile, a series of community meetings is being held to help determine what other uses, in addition to children's services, might be a good fit for the building.

The next meeting probably will be scheduled in February, said Deputy Mayor Mike Dove.

Contemplated uses are family-, health- and education-related, Dove said, and may include a facility to help train future teachers. A community room also is planned.

A Web site for the Jordan project is in the works, Dove said. Officials are asking residents for photographs of the historic school and its students for inclusion. People who have such photos are asked to call Renker Eichs Parks Architects at (727) 821-2986.

The Jordan project is the latest among several renovations completed, under way or planned for iconic buildings in the 22nd Street neighborhood. It began developing during the 1920s and within a few years became St. Petersburg's African-American cultural center.

Jordan Elementary opened Sept. 1, 1925. It was the city's second school for black children. The other was Davis Academy at 944 Third Ave. S, situated in an African-American neighborhood that grew up around the city's gas works. A housing complex occupies the site now.

Jordan Elementary was named for Elder Jordan Sr., an African-American pioneer who moved to St. Petersburg in the early 1900s and became a dynamo in 22nd Street S development.

When the two-story brick school opened, it served about 1,100 children in 12 classrooms. Additions came in 1948, 1952 and 1960.

Head Start used the original building until 1997, when a Health Department inspection revealed environmental problems, said Jim Miller, the school district's real property director.

The structure has been empty since. So far, it is the only building scheduled for renovation, but work on a cafeteria and a one-story classroom will follow as money becomes available.

"We are going to constantly seek more money until we're sure we have enough for the buildings in the rear," Dove said.

The initial main-building work will include some reconstruction and eliminating asbestos and lead.

[Last modified November 20, 2005, 00:54:20]