Waynesboro city officials celebrate marketplace announcement

WAYNESBORO, Va. (WHSV) - The City of Waynesboro gained ownership of the old Ladd Elementary School in March.

The former Ladd Elementary is being stripped to prepare for demolition. — The former Ladd Elementary is being stripped to prepare for demolition.(WHSV)

Officials announced the tenants will include Chipotle, Popeyes Chicken, Aspen Dental, Sheetz and Take 5 Oil Change.

Waynesboro City Mayor Bobby Henderson, who went to Ladd Elementary, says he’s not sad about the demolition of the old building.

Waynesboro City Mayor Bobby Henderson is excited about development in Waynesboro. — Waynesboro City Mayor Bobby Henderson is excited about development in Waynesboro.(WHSV)

“Like everything, it’s a purpose, and it served it’s purpose. Now let’s repurpose the property and make Waynesboro a better place,” said Henderson.

Director of Economic Development and Tourism Greg Hitchen says it was all about finding the right developer and tenants.

Waynesboro Director of Economic Development and Tourism has ambitious goals for site. — Waynesboro Director of Economic Development and Tourism has ambitious goals for site.(WHSV)

“This is a very coveted corridor for retail and services, and we have worked with Augusta county and other developers to try to get the appropriate mix of services and retail in this place,” said Hitchen.

Because of that, it was a long process.

“We’ve been working on this project for quite a while since Augusta County decided to close the school and sell it,” Hitchen said.

Hitchen says he hopes to have the buildings up and running in about a year.

“The goal is to have the buildings up and running mid-next year, so roughly a year from now, we’d expect to see five buildings kind of where we’re standing right now,” Hitchen said.

“Then in a few years after that, there’s more land behind there that they’re going to develop. We have yet to be told exactly what is going on down there, but it’s going to be a big store coming in,” Henderson said.

In the meantime, crews have stripped the building, taking out windows and flooring.

“They’re clearing out all the asbestos so they can come in and demo it and haul everything away,” Henderson said.

City officials don’t plan on stopping at Waynesboro Marketplace. With the Virginia Museum of Natural History, “we’re hoping that’s going to spark a lot of growth on this side of town,” Henderson said.

Hitchen estimates crews will have Ladd Elementary demolished within a month.

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