February

Demolition to begin on former Rockingham Co-op building

James Madison University will soon begin demolition of the building that once housed the Rockingham Cooperative at 101 W. Grace St. in Harrisonburg.  Crews from D. H. Griffin Companies will begin preparing the structure for demolition as early as next week.  Heavy demolition activity will begin later in February.

The university conducted a feasibility study to examine alternatives to demolishing the building.  The study, submitted in October 2012, by Glave and Holmes Architecture, considered the possibility of renovating the structure in its entirety as well as renovating a portion of the building while demolishing the remainder.

Based on the information provided in the feasibility study, the university determined that the full or partial renovation of the structure would be cost prohibitive and likely would be at the expense of a number of other long-standing capital projects that fit within the university’s master plan.

Demolition of the structure should likely be complete by May 2013. The cost of the demolition is $382,100. 

Once demolition is complete, arrangements will be made to turn the space into additional parking for the university community.  JMU purchased the property from the Rockingham Cooperative in October 2010, for $12 million.

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Feb. 8, 2013