Winston-Salem Councilwoman Wants Closed School Building For Community Center

It's been six years since Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools closed the Hanes-Lowrance middle school building after it was found to be sitting on top of a plume of toxic waste.

Now Winston-Salem Councilwoman Barbara Burke is requesting the deed to the building as a way of bringing change to the area. 

In a statement on social media, Barbara Burke says the facility is slated to be used as a garage and maintenance spot for buses. Burke says it would be better used as city-owned property for community service programs.

She says the one-stop center could be used for economic development and empowerment programs and also help address housing needs.

The property is on a tract of land flanked by industrial sites on Indiana Avenue in Burke's Northeast Ward.

Revelations about the contamination led the school system to close the building during the school year in 2015 after parents raised concerns about their children's safety.