YORK COUNTY — During a York County Board of Supervisors meeting, on Tuesday, Aug. 3, York County Administrator Neil Morgan proposed several options for the future of the Grafton Annex.
The former Fire Station 1, now labeled Grafton Annex, has been used for several temporary County purposes.
Since closing in May for renovation and expansion, Yorktown Library has been using Grafton Annex, 5751 George Washington Memorial Hwy, as a warehouse to store books and collections, as well as offer curbside pickup.
In August, the library opened a temporary Browsing Room to the public at Grafton Annex.
With construction on Yorktown Library anticipated to be finished late summer or fall of 2022, the County staff is now considering what to do with the property as there will no longer be a use for it.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Morgan presented possible options to the Board for the Annex’s future placement.
The options included demolishing the building and retaining it as green space, establishing a connector road from Highway 17 to Grafton Drive as there is currently already a traffic signal that lines up with it, or sell it to an adjacent business or for some new enterprise.
The property consists of three parcels, with two of the three comprising the Annex and the parking lot, while the third parcel is home to the Grafton Voting Registrar’s building and a historic York County marker.
Morgan said that he would prefer not to put resources into maintaining the government building while waiting for someone to find a use for it.
“We certainly, as a matter of pride, don’t want it to just sit there and deteriorate,” he said.
Morgan suggested holding a Request for Proposal Process to keep options open over the next 12-14 months and with the Board’s direction.
“I believe there’s no desire on the board to demolish and retain the building as green space,” Chad Green, York County’s District 3 supervisor, said. “And I believe the board would like to look into some private use and get it off of our ownership and onto the tax rolls.”
Green also suggested that the voting registrar be moved to another location in York County.
Morgan also noted that there are no environmental challenges with the property as it has been maintained over the years.
The Board agreed that the County will begin the process of looking for proposals and report back over the coming months with what interest looks like before the Board decides on next steps to take.
