PETERSBURG, Va. — Developers who promised to revitalize the Virginia Avenue School and the surrounding Petersburg neighborhood are ready to move forward after years of delay.
Developer Avram Fechter has informed Petersburg City Council financing for the $35 million project is finally in hand and work could begin in the next two weeks.
"Yes, it’s hard to believe. It’s been a long time, It’s been three years," Petersburg City Council member Howard Myers said.
When pitched in 2021, Fechter said he would transform the abandoned Virginia Avenue School into an apartment building for seniors and build 50 new homes on the streets surrounding the old school. He said the project would be complete by the end of 2023.
But in 2023, he appeared before Petersburg City Council and explained the project was delayed due to state bond funding running out and a previous general contractor dropping out.
Earlier this year, Fechter told CBS 6 senior reporter Wayne Covil thathe expected his tax equity investors to approve a plan and that could lead to construction in the spring.
"It’s going to change what you see out your front door," Myers said about the project. "The transformative action that we have promised that you'll have a better neighborhood to live and play in."
Al Jenkins, who grew up next to the school, is excited about the possibilities.
"It’s going to be a great asset to the community," he said. "It’s going to bring, a lot of people back home and it’s going to be a real joy just to see our elementary school transformed into something great and beautiful.”
The city anticipates some rental homes to be available by the end of 2024 and the school to reopen as apartments in late 2025 or early 2026.
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