GREENSBORO, N.C. — The former American Hebrew Academy seems to finally have found a new role. It's transforming into a training ground for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers dealing with disaster relief.
The Health & Human Services facility, formerly the American Hebrew Academy, will now be used to train and process FEMA staff, the city of Greensboro announced on Friday, Nov. 8.
"I'm thrilled that it's gonna do something and not just be a building that you drive by every day and look at the security guard and think, wonder what they're doing in there,” said Donna Steele who lives nearby.
This facility has sat vacant for years. The more than two dozen buildings, sports fields and athletic center was home to the American Hebrew Academy. However, it shut down in 2019 due to financial struggles.
"It's had lots of cars in the parking lot and it, first we were hopeful with migrants that we would be able to help them and then that fell through and then now at least we'll have FEMA training,” Steele said.
In 2023, the Biden administration planned to use it to house over 800 migrant children. But that never happened. Now, the facility is finally finding a purpose. FEMA says new employees will train here before heading to the mountains to assist those in need.
The original plans for the space were to either house victims of Helene or serve as a staging area for relief efforts. The city said the plans include "North Carolinians who will be joining FEMA’s team to assist with recovery efforts in communities across the state."
"I'm kind of sad that it's not gonna be used as a facility to house people because it's so beautiful. It has lovely rooms and bathrooms and common areas like living areas,” Steele said. “I'm glad at least something's gonna happen to it because it's nice and it's empty and it's just an unused resource."
WFMY News 2 spoke to several neighbors in the area who feel the same. Many saying they wish it was being used to house families whose homes were destroyed by Hurricane Helene. Regardless they’re happy the property is finally going to be put to use.
About a month ago when WFMY first got word FEMA was looking to use the facility local politicians were credited as getting the ball rolling. However the city of Greensboro said it's not involved in helping run it. We reached out to FEMA to find out when the training will begin but haven't heard back yet.
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