Pulaski County wins statewide award
The Pulaski Co Board of Supervisors, with County Administrator Jonathan Sweet and Community Development Director John Crockett with the County’s 2026 Virginia Association of Counties Achievement Award. (David Quesenberry/Patriot Publishing)
Pulaski County’s Adaptive Reuse of 10 Discontinued Public-School Facilities in Less Than 10 Years Wins A Distinguished 2026 VACo Achievement Award
Pulaski, Virginia, June 22, 2026 – Pulaski County is being recognized again for our statewide best practices, this time with a Virginia Association of Counties (VACo), 2026 Achievement Award. This distinguished award recognizes excellence in local government programs and demonstrates the effectiveness of where innovation meets action. The winning initiative was titled From Vacancy to Vitality: Pulaski County’s Adaptive Reuse Initiative and focused on the county’s successful approach to the adaptive reuse of discontinued public-school facilities.
“We are honored to be recognized for our vision, hard work and strategic partnerships to achieve such a monumental feat of comprehensively repurposing ten, and soon to be eleven, discontinued public school facilities throughout the County with varying reuses”, stated Jonathan Sweet, County Administrator. “The task of finding a new purpose for the many discontinued school facilities that were wasting away was a stated objective given to me when I was hired in 2017, and it was one that each member of the Board of Supervisors since has continued to focus on and prioritize…Less than ten years later, we are pleased to say, that once the Dublin Middle School residential redevelopment project is complete, -Mission Accomplished!”
The Vacancy to Vitality program includes the following eleven (11) projects:
- Draper Elementary School – The Conery
- Pulaski Middle School – Pulaski Lofts, a market-rate apartment project
- Claremont Elementary – Claremont School Apartments, a residential affordable and senior housing apartment project
- Dublin Elementary School – The Gateway Private School
- Dublin Middle School Auxiliary Building – Public Safety and Emergency Management facility
- Old Riverlawn School – Home to Community Action, a community park, and public trailhead
- Newbern Elementary School – Headquarters to Trova Commercial Vehicles
- Northwood Elementary School – Renovated into the Pulaski County School Board and administrative offices
- Pulaski County High School – Fully renovated and 100% (vs. 50%) utilized for Pulaski County Administration, the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Cooperative Extension and 4-H offices
- Dublin Middle School Outside Classroom Unit – Relocated during the COVID-19 Pandemic, now used as a childcare classroom at the Building Bridges Early Learning Center
- Dublin Middle School – (TBA) To be repurposed into residential apartment units
One of the secret ingredients to the success of many of these projects is the right public-private or public-public/NGO/non-profit partnership approach. The County has had the privilege and pleasure to work with numerous private-sector, public-sector, non-profit, and NGO partners to complete the herculean feat of tackling ten projects in less than ten years with the prospect of completing the eleventh in this timeframe as well.
“The County is fortunate to be able to work with so many partners who understand the value of investing in Pulaski County and the importance of preserving the history, nostalgia and community pride of these former schools, and we are grateful they share our vision for and commitment to this community,” stated Laura Walters, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “These unique projects aren’t easy due to required abatements, historic restrictions and the sheer size of some of the buildings, not to mention the limitations that come with very old structures designed specifically for only public education purposes, but the County Team has unlocked an expedient way to do what many communities rarely accomplish, and that is to find a new and meaningful life for each of the eleven individual school properties.”
The County’s private, public, non-profit, and NGO partners include: Echelon Resources, Inc., Landmark Property Management Company, Thee Draper Village, Building Bridges, Trova Commercial Vehicles, Pulaski County Economic Development Authority, Pulaski County School Board, Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Cooperative Extension and 4-H, Gateway School, New River Community Action, Locus and the New River Valley HOME Consortium.
In order to make many of the projects like these financially work, it takes more than strong partnerships, it requires creative and resourceful approaches to capital stacking and strategic financing. Beyond direct funding, several of these projects have utilized state and regional rehabilitative funding programs, historic tax credits, brownfield remediation grants, NGO low-interest loan programs, and other public and private funding vehicles.
“I am grateful to the Board of Supervisors for their direction and continued commitment to the adaptive reuse of our discontinued schools, and want to sincerely thank all of our committed partners for their investments in this Vacancy to Vitality initiative,” stated Jonathan Sweet. “But none of this is remotely possible without the contributions of our exceptional County staff who work diligently every day to help dredge through all the many challenges in order to make these projects and the recognition we receive for them possible.”
This is the fourth year in a row Pulaski County has won a VACo Achievement Award (2022 – Innovative Solution to Human Capital Shortage/Communications; 2023 – One Bag Challenge/Environmental; 2024 – Outdoor Fitness Court/Parks & Recreation; 2025 – Public Safety Sensory Emergency Kits/Criminal Justice & Public Safety; 2026 – From Vacancy to Vitality: Pulaski County’s Adaptive Reuse Initiative/Community Development, Economic Development & Land Use) For more information about the Virginia Association of Counties, please visit: www.vaco.org For more information regarding the 2026 VACo Achievement Awards, please visit: https://www.vaco.org/education-and-events/achievement-awards/2026-achievement-awards-submissions/