School district officials welcomed U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez to Key West on May 5 — and not just because he showed up with a $3 million check for the restoration of Reynolds School, although that didn’t hurt.
Gimenez told officials from the school district, Monroe County and city of Key West that he has always been a supporter of historic preservation, but the $3 million in federal funding will do much more, he said.
Noting the construction plan’s “domino effect,” Gimenez said restoration of Reynolds School will let the district move several departments from its other properties so it can build 150 workforce housing apartments at its current headquarters on Trumbo Road.
“Over the past three years, I’ve traveled to Capitol Hill multiple times to meet with Congressman Gimenez and his team, advocating for this project,” school board member Sue Woltanski told the Keys Weekly after the check presentation. “Their support made today’s milestone possible, and I’m deeply grateful. We’ve come a long way, and I’m committed to continuing this partnership until affordable workforce housing for our district’s staff is a reality.”
The 1927 Reynolds School has been vacant since it was severely damaged in Hurricane Irma in 2017, Schools Superintendent Ed Tierney said during the ceremony.
The school property that stretches from Reynolds to Royal Street is two structures. The historic brick schoolhouse that faces Reynolds Street will be restored with the federal funding. The white building in the rear of the property, which is decidedly non-historic-looking, will be demolished and replaced with a new structure, Pat Lefere, the district’s executive director of operations and planning, told the Keys Weekly in November.
“Then we’ll move our facilities and maintenance teams out of Bruce Hall on United Street and into the new building at Reynolds,” he said. “That will free up Bruce Hall for the administration offices that we’ll move out of the Trumbo Road property, where we can build the long-awaited employee housing.”
While the facilities and maintenance teams will occupy the new building in the back of the Reynolds property, the renovated brick building will house adult- or alternative-education classrooms and offices, school board member Darren Horan told the Keys Weekly this week.
“This restoration marks a critical step in the district’s long-term strategic plan, paving the way for the development of much-needed affordable workforce housing on the Trumbo property,” states a press release from the school district. “This investment represents a significant milestone for both the school district and the broader community as efforts continue to preserve local history while addressing essential workforce needs.”
