Troy moving forward on Academy St. High School

Published 3:00 am Thursday, April 27, 2017

The City of Troy is preparing to revitalize the historic Academy Street High School that served the city’s black students from 1921 to 1974.

The Troy City Council formally accepted the title to the historic school Tuesday from the Troy Board of Education. The school board approved a quitclaim deed last Monday that transferred the property to the City.

“We gave this to the city a long time ago, but I don’t know if it ever came off the books in the courthouse,” Hicks said. “This cleans that up so the city can move ahead with any projects they are planning for the school.”

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Mayor Jason Reeves said the city council can move to accept the donation at the next council meeting, which will be held Tuesday.

“We’re getting our ducks in a row now to get started,” Reeves said. “We’ve approved for the roof to be repaired, and we’re looking to start long-term work sometime around this summer.”

The council awarded a bid to Cross Roofing for the repair work at the March 28 council meeting. The total cost for the project will be $74,488.

District 5 residents have pushed for the school to be reopened as a public venue for school reunions, family reunions and other events.

“We’ll definitely want community and business input as we move forward,” Reeves said.

District 5 Councilwoman Wanda Moultry said her constituents are excited for the school to have a presence in the district again.

“We feel it will enhance the presence of District 5 on Academy Street,” Moultry said. “We used to use it, but it’s been a while since it’s been meaningful. We want it to be meaningful again, not just to District 5 but to everyone in the community.”

Moultry is holding another District 5 meeting Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers for residents to bring up their concerns and projects they’d like to see worked on.