Have you driven past the Old High School lately? Have you seen the workers and equipment? The walls will soon be going back up -- rebuilding is under way!

Now, we need your help more than ever. With rebuilding come expenses, and the bills are coming in! The Cornerstone Campaign is your opportunity to help, it's time to step up and push it to its goal of $100,000.

The campaign was launched to help start this restoration of the front section of the Old Hattiesburg High School. Southern Miss College of Arts and Letters has made a commitment to use the building for a variety of classes and performance groups once its renovated. The $100,000 will help pay for restoration of the historic facade. Our shopping list includes a lot of brick, steel and concrete, so we need your help.

Why should you help? Here are just a few reasons:

• You support downtown revitalization.

• You believe in using rather than losing valuable landmark buildings

• You can see the vision of a fully restored Old High School, alive and functioning, once again filled with students and activities

• You can visualize the economic impact of this project on downtown and neighborhood development

• You understand the value of a thriving, growing downtown to the City of Hattiesburg.

Want to help? Go to the website -- click on Old High School -- to check out the list of donors. If you're name isn't on it, it's time to get on board the Cornerstone Campaign. It's as easy as clicking on Make a Donation on the HHDA website, www.downtownhattiesburg.com. Or, mail your tax-deductible contribution to: Hattiesburg Landmark Preservation, Inc., Box 150, Hattiesburg, MS 39403. Questions? Call 601-583-4329 and/or read the article below.

From the Week of July 1, 2008

The long-awaited envelope restoration of the old Hattiesburg High School is ready to begin, announced officials with the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association. “The week before the May 29, 2007, arson fire, we had put the envelope restoration drawings out for bids. The fire caused the project to come to a screeching halt,” said Sarah Newton, President of HHDA. The Downtown Association is launching the Cornerstone Campaign this week to rally financial support for Phase 1 of the restoration project.

Following the fire, officials spent the year planning, redesigning, securing funding sources, seeking contractors’ bids, and other preparation work and now they are ready to award the construction contract. The low-bidder was local contractor, Finlo Construction Company, Inc. The amount of the project including Finlo’s contract, professional fees and contingency is approximately $1.8 million. HHDA currently has $1.7 million from what was left of the Community Heritage Preservation Grant that put the new roof on the building prior to the fire, a Hurricane Relief Grant that was never expended because of the fire and a federal earmark that was announced in December 2007.

The scope of work for this Phase 1 of construction includes erecting a steel frame that will serve as the new structural system for the portion of the building gutted by the fire, as well as, reconstruct the devastated front wall that was the Old High School’s most historically distinctive feature. Plans are that Phase 2 of restoration will hopefully begin in one year.

“It is urgent that we restore the architectural distinctiveness of the Old High School in order for the building to maintain it’s distinction as a Mississippi Landmark, as well as, preserve its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. These designations are critical for the overall funding of the project through the sale of historic and new market tax credits,” Holt McMullan, Vice President for Special Projects for the Downtown Association, said.

“While Phase 1 bids for the Old High School came in as estimated, a funding gap must be closed in order for the project to move forward in a timely manner,” said Sarah Newton, President of the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association. According to Newton, HHDA is launching the Cornerstone Campaign that will last for one month in which the organization intends to raise $100,000.

“The plan is to ask 1,000 people to contribute $100 each. We have received lots of support on the public level: through preservation grants, hurricane relief funding, and support from the City; now we are asking the private sector to step in and bridge the gap. We will be sending out e-mail letters asking people to help by responding and forwarding the e-mail to friends, associates, co-workers and other acquaintances, for the possibility of their participation,” Newton said.

Investors in the Cornerstone Campaign should send their tax-deductible contribution to: Hattiesburg Landmark Preservation, Inc., Box 150, Hattiesburg, MS 39403.

Additional information on the high school project may be obtained on the web site: www.downtownhattiesburg.com , or by calling 601-583-4329.