Here’s sending good thoughts to Carr Central–an amazing 1920s school and Vicksburg landmark. I still don’t understand why the historic preservation tax credits amounting to, I think, 45% of the total cost, aren’t enough to get this project going, but I guess that’s why I’m not a developer.

As reported in the Vicksburg Post on Monday:

Tax credits, to be outlined Tuesday, will determine whether new life will be breathed into the former Carr Central High School Building.

A North Carolina development company is applying through the Mississippi Home Corporation, which turned down previous requests from a previous owner.

The Landmark Group, which specializes in restoring old and historic buildings for residential use, will explain its plan to convert the former school at 1805 Cherry St. into 56 apartments at a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday at First Baptist Church, which neighbors the Carr building to the north, said company spokesman Mike Massoglia.

The Landmark Group has an option to purchase the Carr Building from owner Webber Brewer, Massoglia said, and the sale will hinge on whether it can get tax credits for creating apartments for low- to moderate-income families.

. . . .

The 85-year-old building has been vacant since 1979, when its use as a school ended. The deed then went to the City of Vicksburg, which had plans to raze it until it was declared a Mississippi Landmark. The city later sold the structure, the gym portion of which had been destroyed by fire, to local resident Robert Rosenthal, who applied several times for government participation and was turned down.

It was purchased by Brewer, a local developer, in May 2007. He immediately gutted the building, hauled away debris that had littered the building since the school closed nearly 30 years ago and also removed asbestos. The efforts attracted enthusiasm from alumni who intensified their volunteer efforts to clean up the school grounds.

Categories: Cool Old Places, Demolition/Abandonment, Historic Preservation, National Register, Renovation Projects, Schools, Urban/Rural Issues, Vicksburg