Now, unless somebody purchases it for some other use — condominiums have been suggested, but no buyers have stepped forward — it appears the building at Broadway Street and Trotwood Boulevard will be torn down.
Eventually, it became known as Trotwood High School and then Trotwood-Madison High School as a bigger facility was built next to and behind it. The building was used for non-high school students, and then became the administrative wing for the system.
“It’s had quite a history,” said John Smith, Trotwood-Madison’s director of operations. “We looked into renovating it and the city had some folks out to take a look, but the building is just old. It needs lots of work.”
The wall outside Smith’s old office was losing mortar between the bricks. He said he was wondering how long before he could see through the wall, or have it fall on him.
A year ago, even after it was established the administration was moving out, a $20,000 boiler had to be purchased to get the building through its last season. Some of that money was recouped when the boiler was sold to another school district.
But the building leaked. It has water in the basement now and was not big enough for the district’s needs. The renovation at Snyder Road — a former elementary school — allowed not only for the administration to have a new home, but also for consolidation of the service staff and transportation to come under one roof, along with the Second Opportunity for Success, or SOS, program.
Total renovation of the Snyder Road facility cost about $6 million, money left over from building of new schools in 2005. Bids are about to go out to demolish the Broadway building, along with the Olive Road facility, which is expected to be in the $450,000 range.
Because of its history, some residents would like to see the Broadway building saved, but in the present economy, that doesn’t seem possible.
“There are all kinds of reasons we had to move,” Smith said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157
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