We've been bragging for the past week now on the renovations at the old East Three Notch School -- now Andalusia's City Hall.

This building has stood as a landmark in Andalusia since 1914, and now it's continuing serve in the public interest as a city hall.

Covington County has been fortunate in the past few years to see examples of this kind of reuse.

In Florala, the old National Guard Armory was converted into an activity center. The old post office in Opp is their new City Hall.

It's finding new purposes for these buildings that we admire so much.

None of us want to see these buildings torn down, run down, or left vacant. We all want to see them put to use.

The same is true for the other old vacant buildings around the county.

In Andalusia, we're anxious to see what's in store for the old Church Street School building, the Prestwood Building, the Scherf Building and the old Mallette Building.

In Opp, while most of their old buildings are still occupied, there are a few that could be put to good use. Especially the old Covington Hotel/Covington Manor Building.

In Florala, there are lots of old buildings with character that could be re purposed.

In fact, we like it when the old stuff is salvageable.

In this case, it was.

However, given another few years, it wouldn't have been. In fact, if the city hadn't stepped in and worked on restoring the building, it's highly likely the building would have been condemned or fallen in.

Some people, however, weren't in favor of any of the restoration projects set forth by the city. We respect those opinions, we just don't agree with theme.

It would have been nice to see kids continue to learn in those buildings, but it simply couldn't be done. The school system didn't have the money to bring the buildings up to code and maintain them. The city was able to find the funding through grants and other resources.

For all the naysayers, take a look at the building, you'll like it.