MORGANTOWN — The Sabraton School building stood at 1837 Listravia Ave. for more than 100 years.
Now it looks as if it’s about to get a new tenant.
Morgantown Communications Director Andrew Stacy said the city’s development services office is working with Atlantic Broadband to determine where on the half-acre tract the cable provider can build a data center, and exactly what it should look like.
Not everyone is happy about it.
A number of the parcel’s neighbors turned out in September, when Atlantic Broadband asked the Morgantown Board of Zoning Appeals to grant conditional use to construct what city code calls a “Communications Equipment Building” in an R-1A (single family residential) district.
The cable provider is also seeking variance relief that will allow the building to be 800 square-feet. City code caps such structures at 250 square-feet.
According to architect Ted Jasinski, the building, which he referred to as a “head-end room,” will be unmanned outside of regular maintenance checks and completely non-combustable. The only utility running to the building will be electricity.
Ed Keepers, who lives at 1818 Listravia Ave., said that neighborhood is the not the proper location for a broadband server room.
“My home is on the national register. Knocking Run, the creek across from it, was surveyed by George Washington. We have seven or eight properties that qualify to be on the national register,” he told members of the BZA.
When it was suggested that city staff work with Atlantic Broadband to make the aesthetic of the building match the surrounding neighborhood, Keepers replied “We could make it look like Williamsburg. That’s not the point. The point is, it’s zoned for single family dwellings.”
Development Services Director Rickie Yeager explained communication buildings are permitted in R-1A zoned areas with conditional use approval from the BZA. It was also pointed out that the parcel’s western border abuts a PRO (professional, residential and office) district.
After a vote to table the issue failed 2-2, the board voted unanimously to grant the conditional use and variance relief and tasked Yeager with working with Atlantic Broadband to find a suitable facade and location on the land for the structure.
Morgantown City Council approved a 10-year cable franchise agreement with Atlantic Broadband last month.
The Sabraton School was demolished in July 2019 by Reclaim Co., which is owned by R.J. Williams.
At the time, Williams, who still owns the property through Acme Land Holdings LLC, said he intended to build a “small, high-end housing development” on a six-acre tract that included the former school property.
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