Looks can be deceiving when you drive past the Sandra Moon Community Center off Bailey Cove Road in south Huntsville.

The center has a modern façade across the street from the state-of-the-art South Huntsville Public Library. But residents can’t enter the complex that used to be Grissom High School from there.

It’s been that way since before the library opened late summer in 2021. The reason?

The façade meant to welcome residents into the former high school was put up to cover up the hole that was left when the high school was cut in two, and the other half demolished to help make room for the library.

And there has been a lot of work left to be done before the old school could become a fully functional community center.