‘Zero compromise’: Powhatan Board of Supervisors declines school board’s permit request to partially demolish Pocahontas Landmark Center

POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Powhatan Board of Supervisors (BOS) has denied the Powhatan School Board’s permit to demolish part of the Pocahontas Landmark Center (PLC).    

For some, the former Pocahontas Middle School serves as a symbol of desegregation and could be renovated for community use. For others, the cost to taxpayers could be too much and could pose safety issues.

The BOS voted unanimously against the permit on Tuesday, Sept. 22. This comes after the Planning Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the permit earlier this month. The school board voted 3-2 in August to move forward with the demolition.

It’s been a divisive back and forth between boards and within boards.  

"Nothing seems to work," District 1 representative Bill Donati said during the meeting. "Zero compromise."  

The PLC, located at 4290 Anderson Highway, hasn’t been a school since 2018, but there are offices for school administrators and the African American Cultural Arts Museum. The BOS has said this wouldn’t change with a land transfer, but some school board members see renovation as a money pit.

The Virginia Department of Historic Resources said demolition of a historic landmark must be recommended by the planning commission and approved by the BOS. But officials debate if the landmark center is an official historic landmark.

"I'm a firm 'no' tonight, I'll be a firm 'no' tomorrow, I'll be 'no' next week, and for years to come when it comes to demolishing this county asset," said District 2 representative Steve McClung .At the end of his remarks, he held up a "Save Pocahontas" sign.

The supervisors had three options -- vote for the permit, vote against it or defer for more time to study the feasibility of renovations. A majority of the school board said it's too late for that.   

"We studied it, we put it out there for discussion, we voted on it, we moved forward with the plan," said chairwoman of the school board Susan Smith during an August meeting.

The plan calls to demolish wings B, C and D of the PLC. The BOS said they began a study this year, which was left unfinished, that found the three wings could be renovated into a potential community center. The BOS said the cost of renovating the PLC "could potentially” be less than a new build on a similar amount of square footage, but did not give exact figures. 

Three school board members said the historic part of the school, the part below in white, will not be demolished.

A 2023 study from Dewberry Engineers said to “demolish the B-wing in its entirety” for “black mold and standing water” and that “it’s unsafe to occupy B-wing without an N95 mask.”  It also recommended demolishing parts of the D-wing for quote “hazardous spaces” with “water, mold” and asbestos. The C-wing would need an entirely new roof from water damage.

During the BOS meeting, 12 people spoke against the demolition, including Danielle Lipscomb, president of the African American Cultural Arts Museum housed inside the Landmark Center.  

"Preserving these buildings safeguards not only an important chapter of Powhatan's history but also the legacy, the stories and the identity of the community," she said.  

Only two speakers were for the demolition, including school board member Dr. James Taylor and a Powhatan High School student named Coleman speaking on behalf of some of his peers.   

“We’ve all seen images inside of the landmark center, and to be honest, we all kind of think it looks like Chernobyl," he said. "And we would rather see the money invested into the students of Powhatan than just restoring a building that, to be honest, does not look the same as it did when it was originally built.”  

As of right now, it’s unclear what next steps the school board will take. Their next meeting is October 14.  

The county opened the Powhatan Training School in 1931, offering upper-level courses to Black students. The county then opened what became a segregated high school in 1937. It was initially called the Powhatan Colored School but was changed to Pocahontas High School in 1941. An elementary wing was added in 1950.

In 1969, the school became the integrated Pocahontas Middle School, and the high school was permanently closed.

The county opened a new middle school in 2018, closing Pocahontas Middle and making it the PLC.