Historic Alpharetta Black school redevelopment at standstill years after approval

The doors to the Bailey-Johnson School are padlocked July 21 as progress for a redevelopment project remains on pause. (Jon Wilcox/Appen Media)

The historic Bailey-Johnson School remains shuttered and in disrepair three years after the Alpharetta Development Authority approved a tax abatement bond arrangement for its redevelopment.

Construction originally was set to begin in mid-2022 and be completed by the end of 2023.

On July 21, doors to the school remained padlocks. The red-brick exterior showed no sign of renovation progress, and weeds grew through cracks in the parking lot.