The Toledo Board of Education Tuesday sold Toledo’s historic former post office to ProMedica Health Systems, the latest in a string of purchases of downtown buildings by the regional healthcare giant.
It’s unclear what purpose ProMedica has in mind for the Jefferson Center — built in 1911 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as the Old Central Post Office. ProMedica spokesman Tausha Moore said in a statement the specific plans for the center still remain uncertain.
“We would propose to purchase the building in order to save this historic structure,” she said. “The building will qualify for historic tax credits, which would be a strong incentive for redevelopment.”
Board President Stephanie Eichenberg said the district is not unnerved by ProMedica’s uncertainty.
“They’ve been a great partner in other areas and so I think once they develop a plan it will be one that benefits that area,” she said.
The board unanimously approved the sale for $1.2 million. According to the resolution, the board determined that the Jefferson Center, at 13th Street and Madison Avenue, was no longer needed by Toledo Public Schools.
“When we think about our buildings, we have to think about what clear purpose we have for them,” Ms. Eichenberg said.
The historic structure was designed for the U.S. Postal Service by J. Taylor Knox, the supervising architect of the Department of the Treasury, and built for $550,000. It was purchased by the district in 1966 from the federal government for $1, with the condition that the facility would be intended for educational purposes.
The district operated the building as the Jefferson Center for Vocational Rehabilitation until 1970, when it became the district’s alternative school. It was closed after voters rejected a 6.9-mill levy in 2000.
The center also housed nearly 500 children in a Head Start program from 2002 until 2011 under a lease with the Economic Opportunity and Planning Association of Toledo.
The Jefferson Center was set for demolition in 2011 under the district’s massive “Building for Success” project, a $650 million endeavor that leveraged state funds and a local levy to completely remodel Toledo Public Schools. The school board ultimately voted to save the structure.
Ms. Eichenberg said the district has an extensive list of properties to allocate to promising partners.
“The more we can reduce that list responsibly, while allowing people that we know will invest in the community to be a part of helping us take that burden off the school system’s tax dollars, is great,” she said.
In 2014, TPS Superintendent Romules Durant announced his plans to turn the Jefferson Center into a “new Macomber,” re-centralizing the district’s vocational training programs. The district closed Macomber High School and the adjoining girls’ school, Whitney High School, in 1991, and the district dispersed career training to skill centers at high schools and other locations.
First Published March 27, 2019, 12:34 a.m.
