School system to tear down former admin building
DOVER (WJER) (Dec. 14, 2022) – City school district officials are planning to demolish the district’s former administrative building on West Sixth Street and turn the land into a parking lot.
Superintendent Karie McCrate says the decision comes after months of discussions with representatives from the Dover Historical Society representatives and the city’s architectural review board about the feasibility of relocating the building that was once home to the late Samuel J. Reeves.
“We worked closely with Jim Gill, the director of the public library. They house some of the historical society’s artifacts, and we worked with Shelagh Pruni, who’s the director of the Reeves museum, which is part of the Dover Historical Society. [They] both determined after several meetings and going through the property with us and working with their own boards that they did not have the ability or interest in moving the home at this time.”
The administrative offices moved into the high school’s renovated 1962 wing when the new section was built a couple of years ago. McCrate says they could no longer justify maintaining an empty building but wanted to exhaust other options before having it demolished.
“We want to be respectful of the properties that have significance to the community and we want to be responsible to our taxpayers and use their dollars wisely as well.”
The Dover Board of Education on Monday passed a resolution deeming the building no longer necessary for school purposes. McCrate says the next step will be to seek demolition bids.