College to bring new life to historic old barn
2 schools, biotech incubator part of redevelopment plan
By David Slade
The Post and Courier
The American College of the Building Arts plans to use part of the 112-year-old Charleston City Railway Car House, otherwise known as the Trolley Barn. College President Colby Broadwater said the long-term goal is to put most of the trade classes into the building.
The Post and Courier
Read more about the college
Groundbreaking school holds 1st commencment, published 05/03/09
School sells McLeod; Historic Charleston Foundation once again owns plantation, published 01/10/09
Read more about the Trolley Barn
Community takes a look at Trolley Barn; No consensus on what it should be, published 10/13/05
Read more about the biomedical incubator site
Building to be business incubator, published 06/06/08
Read more about the Meeting Street Academy
Deal to buy land for school OK'd, published 02/11/09
School has its eye on being among best, published 02/11/09
For more information
American College of the Building Arts, on the web: buildingartscollege.us
Charleston's historic Trolley Barn, built in 1897 to house the electric streetcars that once served the city, could become a new home for the American College of the Building Arts.
Under a deal aimed at helping the college and redeveloping the East Central neighborhood, the city plans to lease part of the building to the college for a dollar a year.
The city will consider leasing the entire building to the school in the future.
"The long-term plan is to put most of the trade classes into the Trolley Barn," said college President Colby Broadwater. "For us, it's a perfect space in a historic building."
For the college, the lease arrangement is part of an ongoing effort to reduce expenses. The small liberal arts college offers programs that blend traditional academics with training in artisan building trades, such as masonry and architectural ironwork.
For the city, the college lease is part of a broader effort to redevelop several East Central properties at Meeting and Cool Blow streets.
"The area around the Trolley Barn and mattress factory has always been seen as a focus point for the neighborhood," said Michael Maher, director of the city's Charleston Civic Design Center.
Next door to the Trolley Barn on Meeting Street, work is under way to transform a former mattress factory into a biomedical research facility.
The city is leasing that property to the S.C. Research Authority for a dollar a year, and the authority, along with Medical University of South Carolina, is renovating the building and outfitting it with lab equipment and high-tech amenities.
The $5.5 million project is aimed at nurturing high-wage biomedical startup companies.
Across the street from the Trolley Barn, the city is pursuing a plan to purchase 2.4 acres of vacant land from SCE&G for $4.75 million, and then lease the land to the private Meeting Street Academy.
The academy would get the land for 50 years, for $10, in exchange for agreeing to build a $9 million school on the site, with a gymnasium and playground that would be available for public use after school hours.
Together, the three plans could put the nonprofit college, the biotech incubator facility and a new private school on sites in the East Central neighborhood that are currently long-vacant buildings and an empty lot.
The incubator building also would have a community meeting room and police substation.
The city acquired the Trolley Barn and mattress factory building at no cost from the S.C. Department of Transportation as part of the construction project for the Ravenel Bridge.
The Civic Design Center and the Clemson Architecture Center held public workshops in 2005 to identify the best possible uses for the Trolley Barn.
Maher said that getting a college in the Trolley Barn and an incubator site for businesses next door is in keeping with those findings.
At a City Council meeting Tuesday, the lease deal with the college received preliminary approval. Mayor Joe Riley said the college would be "a positive, wonderful activity" to have in the building, which would be good for the neighborhood.
Councilwoman Yvonne Evans, chairwoman of the Real Estate Committee, said she was pleased to see the college consolidating its activities in Charleston.
The college is in the process of moving its offices from leased space at the former Navy base in North Charleston to the Old City Jail in Charleston, which it has owned since 2000.
The college bought the jail from the Charleston Housing Authority for $3, in a deal aimed at renovating the facility, and received substantial public and private grants toward restoring the building.
The college had also purchased historic McLeod Plantation on James Island from the Historic Charleston Foundation, for $850,000, and planned to use the property for a campus.
However, the college sold McLeod Plantation back to the foundation late last year as part of a plan to shore up finances. The college's financial condition has been a roadblock to winning accreditation.
The college will now be headquartered in the Old City Jail, and is leasing a location on James Island for trade classes.
Broadwater said the long-term plan is to locate all college activities in the Old City Jail and the Trolley Barn.
"It makes sense fiscally, and puts us in two historic buildings," he said.
The institution got its start in 1998 as the School of the Building Arts. It became the College of the Building Arts in 2005, and graduated its first class, comprised of seven students, this spring.
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Rocks66 (anonymous) says...
Unbelievable. The construction and restoration industries are in the midst of their worst declines in over a decade, with recovery of any magnitude still somewhere over the very distant horizon, and the city continues to pump increasingly scarce resources into an "institution" that graduated a total of seven people last year. "The long-term plan is to put most of the trade classes into the Trolley Barn." Are you kidding me? You could put most of the trade classes into a CLOSET in the Trolley Barn.
The belief that this college will produce a generation of Phillip Simonses was delusional even when the economy was in good shape; to continue pouring dollars into this money pit in the face of today's fiscal environment is both reckless and wasteful. It's performance in terms of graduation rates, accreditation, etc., has continued to degrade almost from the day it was opened. The debacle with McLeod Plantation is a perfect example. Fortunately, enough vigilant citizens spoke up in time to avert what would have been a disastrous loss of what will eventually play a significant role in the city's preservation of history. (To be fair, however, the college does allow a handful of self-important bureaucrats to festoon their cars with those license plates that seem to be so popular here, each announcing that the driver has an obscure but notheless "foot-long" quasi-governmental title.)
I would wager that the few who have graduated in the last five years are, in terms of dollars invested by the taxpayers, some of the most expensive graduates in the state. Meantime, institutions like the Charles Webb Center have to beg for donations from the private sector to keep their doors open. Ah, the priorities at City Hall.
July 25, 2009 at 1:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
steve (anonymous) says...
Although I can understand your frustration Rocks66, you greatly underestimate the need for skilled craftspeople in the 21st Century.
To jog your memory it was after Hurricane Hugo that it became evident that Charleston did not have the crafts people to repair the damage done to our historic structures. Mr. Simmons saw that as did a host of other individuals. Hence the idea for the college was born. Mr. Simmons spent much time getting the college started, training students and visiting often. It should be considered part of his legacy.
Students in the school, and graduating, have gone to NoLa to help repair that city after Katrina, many work internships in Europe with master craftsmen during the Summers. Most will graduate from the school and earn very good wages for skills almost lost to us if it were not for the vision of Mr. Simmons, and those who support the college.
Perhaps if you visited the college and saw the students and teachers in action you might have a better understanding of what it's all about.
July 25, 2009 at 7:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Madison (anonymous) says...
I second all of Rocks posts. This school is an absolute joke. Steve, you obviously have no idea how many skilled trades people are in Charleston. To imply we have or had a glut of skilled craftsmen is absurd. In regards to after graduating they will be getting high paying job??? How high of paying job must one get to pay back 100k in student loan debt? This school charges its students in excess of 100k for four years. There are many trade schools out there that last a few months where one can get more real life skills than this school provides in four years. It is not even accredited so there is absolutely no purpose in taking academic classes. I get so aggravated that we as tax payers are forced to support an idea that can not stand on its own two feet. In all honesty the school doesn't even have a leg to stand on. Mr. Simmons involvement in this school was little at most. They used his story to obtain more funds from donors. Please take into consideration that Mr. Simmons spent years in a nursing home during this schools infancy. To imply that this school is some part of his legacy is humorous.
July 25, 2009 at 9:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
combahee (anonymous) says...
I know little about the school but lets see.
The city gets the building for free. It then becomes in many ways a liability with no set purpose, nor any city dollars to fund the rehabbing of the building. So they take this free building and turn it over to the college which will undertake the conversion without taxpayers money.
Don't see a problem with that. City gets rid of a liability. College gets a building they can use. Historic structure is saved and restored. No taxpayers money used. Helps revitalize the neighborhood. Priceless
July 25, 2009 at 9:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
steve (anonymous) says...
Dear Madison,
I hate to burst your bubble, I spent the last 6 years working with Mr. Simmons on documenting his life. The last time he visited the college was in October of last year. Yes he was brought there by a van, in a wheel chair, yes, his health was fading - but when students placed their work in his hands he would start tapping and feeling the work. A smile spreading across his face - he would ask a question or two and comment on the work he held.
To clarify Mr. Simmons did not enter a nursing home until late 2007 - early 2008.
As to the salaries the graduates will get: metal workers/blacksmiths will make up to 30k for a single gate - even more for restorations.
Take your aggravation and use it to get a little bit more educated about the college, it's works - students, value to the community and nation.
As to wasting tax dollars spew your anger toward our Governor, his Wife and 98% of our state legislators. Not students who seek to learn traditional crafts that are rapidly disappearing from our world.
July 25, 2009 at 9:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
STREETLAW (anonymous) says...
30k for a single gate? I'm sure there is a huge market for those. Why not mass produce a version that is identical to the hand crafted product and sell them for $300?
Yes there is a lot of waste in government. That is because it spends other peoples money at a whim. Becoming a politician or government employee seems to bring on a kind of madness that has not yet been defined but is definitely dilusional.
July 25, 2009 at 10:52 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
LutherVanderhorst (anonymous) says...
The American College of the Building Arts has a strong caber tossing team. The "I-beams" as they are called have dominated the sport in recent years. They have an enthusiastic cheer leading squad as well, but are waiting for one more student to complete a pyramid. GO I-Beams! We support you!
July 25, 2009 at 11:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
steve (anonymous) says...
"Why not mass produce a version that is identical to the hand crafted product and sell them for $300?"
Ya know when I was driving Mr. Simmons around he would look at "mass produced" gates and say one word "Chinese."
July 25, 2009 at 1:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Madison (anonymous) says...
Steve,
I understand the value of the work being done and I was not commenting that there was no money to be made in the building arts field. Spending 100 grand for school doesn't guarantee you are going to sell a 30k gate. You obviously like blacksmithing... so lets speak blacksmithing. There are hundreds of trade schools that are geared towards nothing but blacksmithing. You can go for a few months at a time and train. The cost is peanuts compared to this and you will come away with the exact same knowledge of blacksmithing and a much fatter wallet in savings. This is the same for all of the building trades being taught at the school. That building being discussed has a value that exceeds $1. It could be sold. We all know the city could use the money. I would be willing to offer the city a lot more than $1 for the building if given the chance. I don't agree that government should have a place in holding up institutions that can't figure out how to function on their own. The problem with this school is that their business plan is flawed and they will not succeed long term. They start with 10 students in each department as freshman. By senior year that list is dwindled down to one or two in each department. Hence a total of 7 graduates last year. In regards to Mr. Simmons and the school... if smiling and tapping students work constitutes helping start a school and teaching its students... I would have to disagree. Mr. Simmons image was used to help raise money for the school... those are not my words but the words of faculty at the school. The building trades are diminishing but this school is on the same path.
ps- Mr. Lepre, please explain to me how Sanford, a man who loves the veto pen... a man who brought pigs to the capital to protest spending... a man who protested government "stimulus", is someone I need to go after in regards to wasteful spending? Also please tell me what his wife has done to waste tax dollars. I was unaware that she held office in a public legislative section of the South Carolina Government.
July 25, 2009 at 1:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sardis12 (anonymous) says...
"...explain to me how Sanford, a man who loves the veto pen... a man who brought pigs to the capital to protest spending... a man who protested government "stimulus", is someone I need to go after in regards to wasteful spending?"
Go after? Good luck finding him because he sure as hell is rarely in his office...
July 25, 2009 at 2:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sardis12 (anonymous) says...
I'm all for a school, but if the city can sell the building, it should.
Not only is the city getting just $1 per year, it's limiting the possibility of getting a buyer (unless that buyer wants to make a dollar a year while paying thousands in property taxes) for the next 10 years, and the loss of tax revenue from the property over that time ends up costing residents much more. We'd be losing less if the building sat empty...
July 25, 2009 at 3:08 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Reader (anonymous) says...
"Why not mass produce a version that is identical to the hand crafted product and sell them for $300?"
Because at the end of the day, you will have a $300 knock-off that is not the same. Surely, people can still recognize the difference between original work and cheap reproductions, right? A Xerox of the Mona Lisa is not as precious as the real thing, no matter how close it looks from a distance.
As for the economics of the matter, this is probably a good deal for the City in the long run. Sure, the City could sell the building for more than $1, but it is in very bad shape. It was open for tours by the City about five years ago, and it was obvious then. By restoring it for active use, the City is getting a very big value. And, as the article notes, projects like this will bring renewed private investment to the surrounding neighborhood. Sometimes you have to spend $1 to make $10.
July 25, 2009 at 3:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
steve (anonymous) says...
Dear Madison,
Since I do not know you last name I can not respond to you ps properly. Short answer: Mrs. Sanford was Mr. Sanford's campaign manager. For free? I doubt it. As to Mr. Sanford's pigs in the State House P.T. Barnum tactic - well let's just say it pales in comparason to hiking the Appalician Trail on Father's Day.
As to facultiy members thoughts on Mr. Simmons - again the college was started in 1998. Trust me when I say that Mr. Simmons was fit and worked with students at the school.
Please reveal yourself to me so I know to whom I am conversing.
July 25, 2009 at 5:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Jim_Isle (anonymous) says...
No grandiose building plans at McLeod? Great! But the amount of money spent to "restore" the Old City Jail? Priceless! Any one been by there lately? The amount of time and money spent for this school exceeds any reasonable ideas so far. When does anyone listen to the workers who are involved - right now - in restoring buildings? They work for companies who put in dollars and sense with many companies fully involved in restorations. Not a "shell game" but a "sell" game.
July 26, 2009 at 12:05 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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