CaseStudy:Replacement of Second Street School in Bay St. Louis

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) proposes to provide Public Assistance Funds to the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District for its proposed replacement of the Second Street School in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Details
The Second Street School is a central feature of the Beach Boulevard Historic District, which has a period of significance from 1875 to 1949. Originally constructed to serve as the local public high school, the building was most recently used as an elementary school. Despite its change in use, the building has tremendous symbolic importance to the community. School district officials have no desire to demolish the building. Instead, the school district will market the Second Street School and the adjacent 1956 Ingram Building and has already received inquiries from parties interested in re-using the school buildings.

In addition to the Second Street School building being a contributing resource, FEMA has determined in consultation with the Mississippi State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) that the Ingram Building also contributes to the Beach Boulevard Historic District.

This undertaking is part of the overall effort to help Bay St. Louis recover from the destruction that Hurricane Katrina caused. A developer is interested in rehabilitating the historic Second Street School and Ingram Building to create a mixed-use arts center with retail and dining. The proposed reuse of the historic buildings could create jobs and help spur revitalization in the Beach Boulevard Historic District and other parts of Bay St. Louis that have been slow to recover since Hurricane Katrina. Thus, it is an example of an undertaking that successfully balances historic preservation goals with economic recovery objectives.

The SHPO, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District, and FEMA have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), which addresses the potential adverse effects of the proposed undertaking.


 * As executed, the MOA includes the following:
 * marketing of the Second Street School and Ingram Building for a period of three years to identify potential recipients or lessees of the property who will rehabilitate the two buildings
 * rehabilitation of the Second Street School and the Ingram Building in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation
 * interim protection of the two buildings including securing them against vandalism and ventilating them until rehabilitation work begins
 * records of both buildings should efforts to market them fail to result in their rehabilitation ,and it becomes necessary for the Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District to demolish the two buildings.

The ACHP has been involved in the process since December 2008. The MOA was executed on March 17, 2009.