From Schoolhouses to Lofts
In a recent broadcast of “This American Life” Burroughs Elementary School parent Maria Jones, interviewed by journalist Jon Jeter, calls Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s proposal to close down 23 district schools a “land grab.” In making her point, Jones mentions two former school buildings sold to developers and converted into swank condos: Pierce School (now Pierce School Lofts) and Lovejoy School (now Lovejoy Lofts).
She’s not crazy. Quite a few other ritzy apartment buildings have origins as DCPS properties. Bryant School Lofts, Lennox School Condos, Berret School Lofts, and Carbery School Lofts, for example.
When asked whether the District was shutting down schools in order to sell public land to hungry developers, D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s spokesperson, Mafara Hobson, responded that the claim was “absolutely not true.” “There are a number of rumors circulating, but parents and residents should know that there are no immediate plans for the school buildings.” Hobson added there would be a “separate public process to determine alternate uses for the buildings.”
Contacted on this matter, Jones counters that “immediate plans” is the key phrase. “They’ll let them[the buildings] sit there for a few years, then either sell them to developers or give them over to charters. It all points towards privatization,” she says. Jones describes the school closures as a “corporate heist” and warns that in the District, “all our public property is being threatened, period.”
Though the school her daughter attends was recently taken off of the administration’s “hit list”, Jones said that she’ll continue to work against the closures.
“Even my little daughter knows that school reform does not mean closing buildings.”
—Rend Smith
5 Responses to “From Schoolhouses to Lofts”
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March 11th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
How about the Wormley School? Sold by the city to Georgetown University for $1.5 million; flipped by Georgetown; now going to be 13 condos STARTING at $1.4 million!
Or the Randall School? A homeless shelter until 2004, sold to the Corcoran for $6.2 million; flipped by the Corcoran; now going to be 400-500 luxury condominiums!
Or the Gage School?
Or the Mathur Building (across from MLK library)?
Or the Giddings School?
The list goes on, and on, and on.
The public is getting ripped off by developers, and the Council and the Mayor are in on it.
March 11th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
“Even my little daughter knows that school reform does not mean closing buildings.”
Which serves as further evidence why DCPS need serious improvements, seeing as closing surplus schools most definitely part of meaningful school reform since it will help consolidate resources. And yes, selling or leasing this surplus property should be considered. Must we remind her that the property is owned by the public, not just a few activist mothers who are more concerned about the G word than actually improving the schools.
March 11th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
If you think consolidating schools will save any significant amount of money, think again! By the District’s own figures (see here and here, the closings will SAVE about $18 million a year, and will COST about $110 million (see here) in one-time upgrades to receiving schools.
The overall DCPS budget is about $1 billion a year.
So first of all, the claimed savings is about 1% of the operating budget. And second of all, it will take about 6 years before ANY savings are realized.
Whatever the motivation is for the school closings, it’s NOT to save money for DCPS.
March 11th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I live across the street from the Gage school which was closed for over a decade and collapsing in on itself before a developer purchased it and built gorgeous market rate housing starting in the $200K range. Housing at this price point is desperately needed in the city, and the neighborhood was hardly being served by an abandoned building. Would someone argue we needed a THIRD elementary school within 3 blocks of 2nd and U street NW? Seriously some of the anti-development crowd is just insane.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
Encouraging developers to include k-3 or similar sections in all plans over a certain size, or, offering incentives for some sort of public use designation-beyond basic taxes-and permit developers expansion “credits” if they sponsor classroom reconstruction and/or teacher training endowments, construction trades schools, etc; but the Mayor needs to wade into this and do something-now-as turning a aircraft carrieer sized problem around without rolling over will be tough; the Mayor knows, in an “internet working at home” world, with a city full of taxpayers who are well educated and mobile in employment matters, all it will take is a repeat of even a hint of the 1968 riots and DC will empty out like a kitchen sink draining after the plug is pulled, with wind blowing between all the empty high rise towers when people of all races just get tired and decide they have had enough and want to live where there current, or future, kids can go to a local school and be okay, and, they can walk to work and not get mugged, pan handled or run over by cabbies ignoring normal traffic rules. I want DC to achieve greatness, but, this whole area has a feel of tipping one way or the other, so I am rooting that Fenty makes it work!!!!