The Town of Braselton plans to hire a firm to perform a market assessment and development study for the former West Jackson Primary School site on Hwy. 53.
The town has owned the 63,500-square-foot building and grounds since purchasing it from the Jackson County Board of Education in November of 2021 for $1.2 million.
The $35,000 study, performed by Retail Strategies located out of Birmingham, Alabama and Ft. Worth, Texas, would provide a market analysis, offer recommendations for the use of the facility and "give us some idea for how it can be redone," Town Manager Jennifer Scott said.
The town still needs to sign a contract with the firm but received the study cost estimate last month. The town recently contracted Retail Strategies to perform Braselton's five-year downtown strategic plan.
Scott said this study is common practice for the town's large purchases, pointing to a similar survey commissioned for the Braselton Brothers Store building, which now serves as a restaurant and retail space.
Scott noted that the former school site, which initially served as Jackson County High School before that school moved to Jefferson in 1979, has water leaks and numerous roof issues.
"It needs to be evaluated by some engineers and architects," she said.
When asked if town officials and council members have an overall vision for the facility, Scott said she believed that "everyone has different visions."
"And so a study will give an outside opinion," Scott said. "They don't have to take it, but at least then they have the hard information from the engineers and architects on what changes need to be made."
Meanwhile, Scott said she fields phone calls regularly from potential renters — from businesses needing office space to retailers to non-profit organizations.
"A little bit of everything," Scott said.
Scott noted the scarcity of downtown commercial space.
"Nothing is available here," she said.
A charter school organization, National Heritage Academy, has also toured the facility. Scott, who last talked with the organization in mid-November, asked the group to submit a proposal for mayor and council review but has yet to receive one.
As the building sits empty, law enforcement and emergency services agencies have used the building for mass-shooter response training exercises. West Jackson Fire Department regularly uses the facility's parking lot for truck-driving training.
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