By Tim Gardner
The celebration of one of the top milestones in the 125-year history of Lees-McRae College—the rededication of its Historic Commons buildings following the recent completion of their renovations and extensive physical upgrades–was held with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on July 18.
A large and highly enthusiastic gathering of approximately 225 attended the celebration ceremony held at the North Carolina Building on campus, including school officials, employees, alumni, Town of Banner Elk and County of Avery officials, regional and state dignitaries, and other special guests and visitors.
The ceremony featured remarks from North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, Lees-McRae Board of Trustees Chair Barbara Kopczynski, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Area Director Jody Lovelace, and Lees-McRae President Dr. Lee King. Following the ribbon cutting, guests and others attending were invited to tour the buildings which have been mainstays to Lees-McRae College for 100 years.
With the completion of this project, Lees-McRae has reinvested in the future of the institution and prepared itself for excellence.
“This is probably the single most exciting time in Lees-McRae history,” Dr. King declared. “Not only did we bring these historic structures back to life, but we also made them a modern environment for twenty-first-century living and learning for our student body.”
The project consisted of renovations to the existing Tennessee and Virginia student residence halls, two three-story buildings with full basements totaling approximately 20,600 square feet each, renovations of the North Carolina building, a two-story building with a full basement totaling approximately 12,280 square feet, and renovations to the Pinnacle Room and Deck, a two-story building totaling approximately 3,500 square feet.
Lees-McRae received a $30 million Community Facilities Direct Loan from the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development for campus preservation and development to pay for the renovations and upgrades. The loan represents one of the largest government investments ever in a preservation and development project not only in the North Carolina High Country but across all of Western North Carolina as well.
Dr. King acknowledged that the renovations bring to completion the first phase of the college’s 2020 facilities master plan, stating: “As we completely renovated these historic classrooms and residence halls, and celebrate our 125th anniversary, this momentous project further exemplifies the renaissance and transformation occurring at Lees-McRae College.”
The project was a goal that Dr. King originally set when he first took the leadership post at the college in 2018. Dr. King, along with the college’s cabinet members, then walked through each classroom and student residence room across campus, assessing the state of the college’s facilities. After touring the Historic Commons buildings, Dr. King developed a vision to revitalize the buildings and restore them cosmetically as close as possible to their original condition, while also fully modernizing them.
“The state of these buildings represented a long-term failure of the college, and it was a failure to be tenacious about creating a thriving future. Somewhere along the way, the college lost its drive to be remarkable, and it was up to us to fix it,” Dr. King said in his speech at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Now the college is thriving with a bold vision and a forward-thinking mindset that we will create a future for this college that none of us could ever have dreamt about when my cabinet and I took that tour in 2018.”
Dr. King and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) North Carolina Rural Development State Director Reginald Speight announced in April 2022 the college’s plans to update the Historic Commons buildings.
Speight released the following comments then: “I’m thankful that the United States Department of Agriculture had the opportunity to invest in the future of the young adults who are going to matriculate on the Lees-McRae College campus. I thank the college’s officials and all others involved for allowing the USDA to partner together with this mission in the mountains, of the mountains, and for the mountains as we provided the loan to get the renovations and revitalizations accomplished.”
Lees-McRae used the loan to enlarge the individual residence spaces in Tennessee Hall and Virginia Hall and create more robust communal living areas. The North Carolina Building, will also likely become the social hub of the campus. Its first floor is a community space for collaboration and relaxation. Its renovations include the addition of a campus living room, multipurpose classrooms, and an event center on its top floor that highlights the building’s historic charm with its original roof trusses left exposed. Reverend Tufts’ signature can be seen on one of the trusses, an artifact from a century ago when the building was first constructed. Tennessee and Virginia Halls feature modern, air-conditioned residence rooms for 106 students, allowing the college to grow its student body. The lower level of Virginia Hall has a new student affairs suite complete with updated offices, meeting spaces, and additional facilities for counseling and health services.
The Pinnacle Room, Deck, and Courtyard, a favorite place on campus for many alumni whose dining hall was housed there in years past, has been restored to its original grandeur, but still with a most modern touch. Many original details like the historic stairs, fireplace, and fountain have been maintained, and the space has been revitalized with a superlative commercial kitchen to serve as a secondary dining location.
These revitalization efforts also extend outside the building’s walls, with beautiful landscaping and grounds work.Site improvements also include additional parking, and a paved promenade and patio with site lighting and site amenities, especially along the Pinnacle Deck and Pinnacle Courtyard.
The three buildings of the Historic Commons-North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee-were constructed in the 1920s under the direction of Reverend Edgar Tufts and his son, Edgar H. Tufts. Reverend Tufts launched a campaign called “Rocks by the Ton” to raise money for the building materials. The college has long been committed to maintaining the historic character of the buildings while performing regular renovations to meet modern standards. Dr. King mandates that these newest renovations and upgrades make the buildings as modern, attractive, and functional as those on any college campus and of any size in the United States.
College and town officials have indicated that the Historic Commons Buildings renovations will not only provide major benefits for Lees-McRae’s students but also have long-term positive impacts on the Banner Elk community.
“It has been cited that all growth and improvement made to a college or university greatly helps the town where the institution is located,” Mayor Brenda Lyerly said. “It is a big plus for the Town of Banner Elk to have this latest Lees-McRae renovations project come to fruition and the growth it provides. It was a great vision from Dr. King and the Lees-McRae Cabinet to see the need for revitalization in the Historic Commons buildings and their hard work and dedication to see them become reality deserve special recognition, congratulations, and thanks from all in the Banner Elk Community and all those involved with Lees-McRae in any capacity. And it’s wonderful as well as the ultimate of help that the USDA understood the value of this investment and made it all possible by granting the loan.”
Construction on the project began in the Summer of 2022. McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects & Interior Designers, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Frank L. Blum Construction Company, headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, conducted the designs and construction.
-Photographs and some information used in this article were supplied by Lees-McRae College-
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