High school officially JMU’s
By Rachana Dixit, news editor
Posted on August 31, 2006

The former Harrisonburg High School building has a proud new owner. After leasing the building for one year, JMU officially decided to purchase it from the Harrisonburg City Council over the summer for $17 million.

The city council voted in June as to whether JMU would be able to acquire the 28-acre property. Four council members were in favor of the purchase, and former mayor Larry Rogers abstained from the vote.

The original five-year lease for the building, now named Memorial Hall, started July 1, 2005 at a total cost of $7 million. However, there was an option to  purchase the building while the lease was in place.

Harrisonburg City Council member Charles Chenault said the first deal involving the high school and JMU began when the university approached the council asking to rent the building. At that time, the city council was looking for ways to build a new joint elementary-middle school campus on the east side of the city, and funds weren’t readily available.

“Some of us saw this as a new opportunity to secure funds to build a new school,” Chenault said. He added that the old high school building served no further purpose as an educational facility for the city.

“[The old high school] is not located in the prime growth area of the city,” he said.

By the time negotiations began, Chenault said, the high school building was already unoccupied. The new Harrisonburg High School was being constructed at that time, and was first occupied in fall 2005.

Chenault said growth on the east side of the city is much higher than in other parts.

However, Chenault said there was some concern over preserving the high school as a historical building. He added, though, that most of the council’s members believed the university would do a good job at preserving its history.

“I’m a supporter of JMU because it brings a vitality and life to the community that a lot of us appreciate,” he said.

Andy Perrine, JMU spokesperson, also said by purchasing the building, the university hopes to preserve its nature as a teaching institution. Currently, the building’s only permanent tenant is the College of Education.

“The College is now residing in an environment where a lot of the students will end up conducting their careers,” Perrine said. “It respects the history of the building.”

Some interior renovations have been completed, including food establishments, because of the building’s distance from main campus. Stephanie Hoshower, resident district manager for JMU Dining Services, said the university added a Java City and a deli, the West End Grill.

Although more indoor renovations may take place in the near future, Perrine said the university is not planning to purchase any more large properties or greatly expand JMU’s campus. “There is somewhat of an expansion in that direction,” Perrine said, “but the university doesn’t really have any big plans on major acquisitions."