Comments on: City Offers Up Franklin School for Development

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:27:03 +0000

I basically second everything everyone here has said. I walk by this building every day, and it's criminal to have it sitting empty and undeveloped. We do need homeless shelters in downtown DC, there's no question about that. But this property could generate more tax income for the District- in both property and income taxes- if it were to be turned into residential condos. A homeless shelter just wouldn't be the most efficient, logical use of this gorgeous, historic building.

By: Coalition Pushes City to Keep Franklin School An Educational Facility - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:02:40 +0000

[...] there are, of course, the private developers, who the city seems to be targeting in their push to redevelop the school. And since they can bring in the tax dollars and a spending boost to D.C.—and the city [...]

By: Who’s Interested in Redeveloping the Franklin School? - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:36:19 +0000

[...] Journal is dropping names of some of the developers that stopped by last week to check out the Franklin School, which is up for redevelopment again. All bids are due by Jan. [...]

By: What Has Happened to All of D.C.’s Recently-Vacated schools? - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:24:26 +0000

[...] seems destined to be transformed into a boutique hotel or some other private residential building. (Back in September, the city offered up the Franklin School to both public and private developers with a new request [...]

By: Should the Franklin School Become an Actual School Again? - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:19:55 +0000

[...] in September, I broke the news that the District was offering up downtown’s Franklin School for development again. This erstwhile adult education school was a homeless shelter for years, until the city shut it [...]

By: How Many New Luxury Hotels are on the Way? - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:33:11 +0000

[...] The Franklin School building downtown could go hotel. [...]

By: City Chops $20 Million from Homeless Services Budget - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:12:59 +0000

[...] after weeks of posting about homeless shelter closures and Petworth and Columbia Heights residents rejecting a planned shelter in their neighborhood, I [...]

By: Realistic

Realistic — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:53:03 +0000

Agreed that the DC education system has been awful, but experience and reality teach us that the wackos, losers, and John Hinkleys of this world will always gravitate to DC like moths to a flame. Homeless people will always come to DC and SF. That's just the way it is.

No matter what we do, homelessness is going to be a problem here, and there's no reason to keep prime real estate off the tax rolls at a time when the District is drowning in debt.

By: Cary Silverman

Cary Silverman — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:24:29 +0000

They city should put the Franklin School to an educational use as the building was designed, intended, and used for 150 years before it became a homeless shelter. (See http://theother35percent.blogspot.com/2009/09/flagship-college-or-boutique-hotel.html). Maybe if the city had provided more opportunities for community college programs, technical training, and adult education, homelessness would be less of an issue in DC today.

By: D.C.’s Taxicab Confessions: Loose Lips Daily - City Desk - Washington City Paper

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:07:23 +0000

[...] Samuelson notes at Housing Complex that DMPED has issued an RFP for the Franklin School—no, none of the charter school proposals [...]