News

City delays closing Ninth Avenue for HHS expansion

By Bill Moss, Published: February 7, 2014

The Hendersonville City Council postponed the closing of Ninth Avenue between Church and Oakland streets for at least a year based on a request from Henderson County schools officials.

School Board Chairman Ervin Bazzle said the School Board and administrators favored the delay because it's unlikely Hendersonville High School will need the property in the next year. The closing already had the support of the School Board and the Board of Commissioners as part of the eventual expansion of HHS. The county bought the old Boyd Chevrolet property, which the school system plans to use for the high school's expansion. It's possible the property could be used either as classroom buildings or as library and lunchroom space. Nothing has been decided, and Bazzle said the school system's architect is just starting to look at the property, listen to the needs and draw up options.

Closing the street gives planners the option of moving new buildings closer to the HHS campus, on top of where the road runs now.
"If we took it now we'd have to keep it and maintain it for two years," Bazzle said. "The problem would be if we were owning it if something were to happen. Under the agreement we have with the county, we start asking for funding about February 2016."
As soon as the street closing item came up, Councilman Jerry Smith made a motion to delay the hearing for a year, until February 2015.
School administrators and Henderson County officials were aware of and supportive of the decision to delay the closing for a year, Bazzle said.