ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — As Asheville students prepare to go back to school, one Asheville City Schools building is receiving a major upgrade.
“Hall Fletcher is our big one,” said Jeremy Gibbs, Chief Operations Officer for Asheville City Schools. “If you go by there to look, you’ll see it’s really kind of a hopping, active construction site.”
Gibbs said that the elementary school, located on Ridgelawn Road in West Asheville, is in the process of renovating its mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, most of which were built around the 1970s. The operations officer said that the action was a proactive one, but necessary.
“It’s one of those things where you go in, it’s all this stuff that’s out of sight. It’s in the walls, it’s overhead. But if you don’t do something about it, it’ll be really bad,” Gibbs explained.
There are other improvements coming to Hall Fletcher, too.
“There’s a huge push to get a bunch of work done. Some new HVAC components. All-new windows for the facility, which will be fantastic. They’ll be building a brand-new elevator,” Gibbs listed. “There is an elevator in Hall Fletcher, but it’s not what you would put in a modern facility.”
Once the school opens, several classrooms will move into “a swing space” while work is completed, Gibbs said. Those rooms will be cordoned off while overhead work is completed, then reopened and restored to normal classroom order.
Gibbs anticipated that the entire process of repair and renovation would be completed over summer 2027.
The first day of school for Asheville City Schools students will be Monday, Aug. 24, 2026.
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