To the editor:
Over the past week, signs have gone up around Greensboro suggesting that its town hall needs to be saved. Saving could be from something or for something. Does the proposed plan to redevelop town hall into a multiple-use building, with modest-income housing units, threaten the building or make beneficial use of it?
The project has been developing for five years with plenty of consultation and public involvement, from the 2019 VCRD community visit process to surveys conducted by the Planning Commission and Rural Arts, a Town Plan, et al. Details are at greensborovt.gov/town-hall-redevelopment/.
The Greensboro Town Plan describes the need for redevelopment: “People who work in Greensboro’s current industries and retail outlets, such as Jasper Hill Cheese, Hill Farmstead Brewery and Willey’s [store], have difficulty finding affordable places to live in their workplace town, due to both the cost of housing and the lack of affordable housing stock.
“A thriving community needs people of all ages and incomes. Retention of a resident workforce supports community common values. It protects the ecosystem from the impacts of long commutes by responsibly locating housing in our neighborhoods, and a resident workforce is more likely to invest socially, civically, and economically in the community in which they live. Providing housing opportunities that support a resident workforce will help to maintain an economically and socially diverse population with generational continuity, a characteristic of a healthy community with a high quality of life. Additionally, offering a variety of housing options allows residents to stay in the community long-term. The stability and cultural memory brought by long-term residents integrates understanding and appreciation of a community’s rich history with efforts for the future, and the existing valued community character can be maintained.”
The building, as organic farmer and farmers’ market manager Carol Fairbank puts it, “hasn’t been fit for public use for many years” as it is “full of lead and asbestos,” “has electrical faults, structural faults, and lacks insulation and accessibility.”
Bringing the building up to current code, safety, and accessibility standards would require a multi-million dollar capital campaign supported by generous donors, a full-time employee, maintenance funds and a deep tax burden for every resident.
Saving town hall takes on a different contour in the light of these realities. Will it be saved from the possibility of young working families being able to afford living in town? Or saved for a future that includes them?
Adrian Ivakhiv
Greensboro
Adrian Ivakhiv
