GREENVILLE — The parking area for St. Clair Memorial Hall in Greenville is nearly complete.
Greenville Schools Superintendent Doug Fries said Greenville City School District Administrative Office employees have begun using the freshly paved lot, although some landscaping work continues to be performed.
“The next step is to finish top soil around curbs and walks, and then we should see landscaping taking place including grass and shrubs,” he said. “That will be followed by a punch list from architects and any corrective work from that list.”
The new parking area, which has 92 spaces, including four spaces designated for handicapped parking, sits on the site previously occupied by the former junior high building.
The junior high building, originally constructed in 1923 and which sat next to Memorial Hall, was demolished in August 2017. Though some voices in the community sought to preserve or repurpose the historic building, the school district said the costs to maintain or renovate the structure would have been unfeasible.
Fries said the opening of the new parking lot is an advantage to the schools and to the public.
“This gives our employees and visitors more space to park and will keep the front and side streets surrounding Memorial Hall more open to the public,” he said. “It also reduces the amount of parking needed for all school events as well for Darke County Center for the Arts events.”
Fries estimated the school district’s cost at approximately $108,000 but said determining the exact, final price at this point is difficult because some of the cost comes with the demolition project in conjunction with the state.
“We upgraded to asphalt, some additional walks and landscaping. So some is split with the state while other is not. The final break down is not complete but all within the demolition budget,” he said.
Fries said engineering firms Garmann Miller and Mote & Associates both performed work on the design of the lot.
