Chimney swifts complicate plans to raze old Smith Middle School

Thousands of chimney swifts stop in Mecklenburg County each fall on their migration to the Amazon Basin, and many spend their nights in the chimney of the former Smith Middle School. The abandoned building sits adjacent to Collinswood Language Academy off Tyvola Road, creating a tension between local conservation efforts and a planned demolition project.

Mecklenburg County and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district plan to tear down the structure to make way for affordable housing. CMS declared the Smith Center land surplus in April and agreed to sell it to the county. A draft term sheet outlined a purchase price of up to $4.5 million, with an additional $2.5 million allocated for CMS to handle demolition.

County officials requested that CMS attempt to preserve the chimneys during the demolition. CMS says it plans to leave the structure intact. The district and the county are currently working to finalize a purchase agreement. Once that agreement is signed, CMS must complete asbestos and environmental testing and submit permits, a process that can take up to six months.

Ninth grader Celia Kaul first identified the roost while looking for trees to preserve on the Collinswood campus. She contacted Sara Gagné, an urban landscape ecologist, about the potential demolition. Gagné has since begun mapping known roosts across the county. She has found about 20 active roost sites this year, seven of which are on CMS property.

Parents at Collinswood have long raised safety concerns about the vacant building, citing trespassing, vandalism, and a gun incident in January of last year. Gerardo Sandoval, whose children attend the school, supports keeping the chimney as part of the community's new vision for the site. The school community is exploring building an apiary and a garden, and Sandoval sees the swifts as an educational opportunity.

CMS Board member Cynthia Stone acknowledged residents’ frustration with the slow progress but supported preserving the historic structure. She noted that the chimney serves as an environmental safety net for the birds. Gagné emphasized that protecting these existing roosts is under human control, unlike the natural habitats that have already been lost.

The swift population has declined by more than half since the mid-20th century. Scientists suspect habitat loss and declining insect numbers are key factors. Before chimneys became common, the birds roosted in hollow old-growth trees. The current effort to save the Smith Center chimney is part of a larger attempt to document and protect these urban roosts.