The Harford County Board of Education will decide tonight on what to do with a historic school building, and Bel Air officials are confident they have better alternatives to razing the site for a parking lot.
The property, known as “The Bel Air Academy,” is at 45 E. Gordon St. in Bel Air and has served as an elementary school, high school or county schools headquarters since 1880.
Since December 2005, the board has considered razing the building to add a parking lot, playground space and drop-off point to the adjacent Bel Air Elementary, but has met with resistance from preservationists and town officials. A temporary reprieve was granted in May to give the town time to plan another use for the building.
Now, Bel Air has given the board several alternatives that will give them the access they need without having to demolish the old building, said Bel Air Town Commissioner and former Gordon Street student James “Capt. Jim” McMahan.
“To my knowledge, they?re reacting positively to our alternatives. … I?ve heard no conversations with regard to knocking the historic building down,” McMahan said.
Town Administrator Christopher Schlehr said the board will be given three options: An access road between Lee and Gordon streets; a turnaround for cars and buses behind the school; or a second circle so parents don?t have to drop off their children in the same space as the school buses. None of those alternatives will require the demolition of the building, McMahan said.
In addition, two developers have expressed interest in coming up with an alternative use for the vacant building, so Harford County Schools aren?t left with a decaying, unused facility, he said.
The board will discuss and weigh the options at its regular Monday-night meeting, said Board Member John Smilko, who has been the schools? liaison to the town on the Academy issue.
