Project Update — Pause in Edgar A. Long Building Restoration Efforts
In November 2023, CI, Inc. was informed by the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association (CIAA, Inc.) Board, the property owner, that our organization’s access to the Edgar A. Long Building and the adjoining property at 140 Scattergood Drive, Christiansburg, VA 24073, would be discontinued.
This development has significantly limited CI, Inc.’s ability to plan and host educational tours, field trips, and on-site public programs—core activities that reflect our nonprofit’s mission and history. These programs are essential not only for generating vital operating support but also for engaging the public in the 100-year legacy of the Christiansburg Industrial Institute.
In response, CI, Inc. made the careful decision in December 2023 to temporarily pause project activities and place our planning, fundraising, and restoration efforts for the Edgar A. Long Building on hold. This step was taken to ensure that future progress can move forward responsibly and in the best interest of the communities we serve.
We viewed this temporary pause as an opportunity to focus on rebuilding a collaborative working relationship with the CIAA, Inc. Executive Board, particularly in light of leadership transitions that followed the July 2023 CIAA elections.
Since December 2023, CI, Inc. has experienced limited access to the Edgar A. Long Building and surrounding campus grounds as a result of restrictions set by the CIAA, Inc. Board. These limitations have impacted our ability to conduct maintenance, pursue grant opportunities, and host prospective partners interested in supporting the site’s restoration. Understandably, this situation has led to some uncertainty among our community and supporters and has temporarily slowed progress toward our shared vision for the Edgar A. Long Building.
While access to the site has been limited since December 2023, CI, Inc. remains committed to its mission and confident that, through partnership and shared purpose, our collective efforts at the historic Edgar A. Long Building will move forward once again.
CI, Inc. Founding Purposes.
CI, Inc. was founded in 2000 as an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization by members of the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association (CIAA). Below are our nonprofit’s founding purpose’s.
Managing, developing, and improving and preserving the Edgar A. Long Building and adjoining property, owned by CIAA.
Operating a museum with archival storage.
Operating a learning center.
These priorities reflect the core mission and mandate of our nonprofit. Since our founding in 2000, CI, Inc. has remained steadfast in pursuing these goals—most notably, the restoration and reopening of the historic Edgar A. Long Building.
Pre-Restoration 2020.
2021 | Update Master Site Plan
CI, Inc.
2019 - 2023
2019 - 20’ | Roof Restoration
In 2020, after raising approximately $215,000, we successfully completed the restoration and renovation of the entire roof system on the Edgar A. Long Building. All capital improvements on the roof were completed in accordance with the Secretary of Interiors Standards for Historic Rehabilitation and preserved the the roofline to its historic appearance when it was originally built in 1927.
Post-Restoration 2020.
In 2021, during the Covid Pandemic, CI, Inc. acquired an updated 2021 Master Conceptual Plan from Roanoke based architecture firm, Hill Studio, in partnership with the Town of Christiansburg.
This involved CI, Inc. and Hill Studio collaborating to organize a series of community roundtable discussions. These sessions brought together local tourism and museum professionals, cultural artists, historic preservationists, representatives from area universities and local public schools, government stakeholders, as well as CI alumni and legacies. The aim was to ensure active community involvement and engagement in the visioning process for the building's and campus public reuse.
Project Deliverables
Structural Assessment/Building Measurement
Phase 1 Environmental Assessment
Construction Budget
Pro Forma and 5-Year Business Plan
Renovation Feasibility Report
Asbestos Testing
2022 - 23’ | Edgar A. Long Staircase Repair and Smokehouse Museum Roof Replacement
2022 - 23’ | Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development Planning Grant
In 2023, the Town of Christiansburg was successfully awarded, in partnership with CI, Inc., a Planning Grant from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (VDHCD) ‘Industrial Revitalization Fund (IRF)’ program.
With these funds, we partnered with Hill Studio to significantly advance project planning, preparing the building for construction readiness and capital improvements, with the anticipation of applying for the IRF implementation grant Fall 2024. CI, Inc. pursued and applied for the planning grant in 2022 with the stated approval and support from the 2017-2022 CIAA Board of Directors.
Between 2022-2023, we repaired and re-stabilized the handrail and staircase system on the first floor in the Edgar A. Long Building and installed a new roof and gutter system on the Smokehouse Museum as a part of the CenvarGives Program. These efforts were also accomplished in partnership with the 2017-2022 CIAA Board of Directors.
In 2001, the Edgar A. Long Building was added to the Virginia Landmark Registry and the National Register of Historic Places. We accomplished this milestone achievement in partnership with the CIAA Inc. Board, with CI, Inc. serving as project manager overseeing administrative reporting, nomination form filing, communications with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources and National Park Services, and covering financial obligations related to the project.
In 2005, the CIAA, Inc. Board of Directors conveyed an Historic Easement to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, with CI, Inc. serving the role of project manager responsible for facilitating communications among project stakeholders and ensuring the successful execution of a historic easement on the Edgar A. Long Building. During this same year, legal counsel drafted a series of lease agreements for the Edgar A. Long Building between CI, Inc. and CIAA.
CI, Inc.
2000 - 2008
In 2007, CIAA conveyed a Deed of Easement to CI, Inc., providing our organization with a “non-exclusive, perpetual easement for the purpose of ingress, egress, and parking as contemplated by the Site Dimensional Plan attached hereto as Attachment A…this Deed of Easement shall run with title to the property, and shall be binding upon the Grantor’s successors and assigns.”
In the early 2000’s, CI, Inc. acquired construction budgets, engineering reports, feasibility studies, conceptual drawings, schematic design and development documents all aimed at preserving and adaptively reusing the Edgar A. Long Building as a museum, learning center, and community gathering space. The project planning materials developed during this time period played a crucial role in informing, guiding, and updating our 2021 Master Site Plan nearly two decades later.
These initial achievements were facilitated by strong partnerships between CI, Inc. and CIAA, Inc. around a shared dedication to restoring and reopening the Edgar A. Long Building.