RICHMOND—The former Hayden High School in Franklin is among 16 sites the Department of Historic Resources recently listed in the Virginia Landmarks Register.

The school on Oak Street was built in 1953 to replace an overcrowded and all-black high school building from 1906 that was in poor condition. For proponents of school segregation, a fiercely contested issue in Virginia and elsewhere in the United States at the time, the new school building represented a modern “separate but equal” educational facility.

In 1970, the school was desegregated as a junior high.

Senior Services of Southeastern Virginia wants to convert the building into a 62,000-square-foot, government-subsidized housing complex for seniors. To be known as Hayden Village, the development would include 25 apartments with 10 in the original building and 15 in a new wing.

The $10 million complex will include a community center that could provide 60 jobs. Also included in the project would be an adult daycare center, black history museum, restaurant and Head Start facility.

Listing a property in the state or national register places no restrictions on what a property owner may do with his or her property.