Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Some Serious Heavy Lifting!

DPS to tear down 14 vacant schools it calls the worst eyesores


By LORI HIGGINS


FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER
 

Detroit Public Schools is to tear down 14 vacant schools beginning in January, elimi nating maintenance costs and getting rid of buildings that have been a haven for graffiti artists, vandals and thieves.

“These are absolutely the worst of the worst,” said Rob ert Bobb, emergency financial manager for the district. The buildings, he said, “are hazard ous for kids in the neighbor hoods.”

Bobb made the announce ment Monday with Sherrard School as the backdrop. The former elementary school, which closed in 2007, is among those to be torn down. At Sher rard, and the adjacent former Foreign Language Immersion and Cultural Studies School, vandals have destroyed the buildings, removing windows, stealing copper and leaving a trail of glass and debris in and outside the building.

Bobb said the district will use $3.1 million left over from the 1994 bond and nearly $30 million from Proposal S, the bond proposal voters ap proved in November.

Proposal S called for the de molition of 29 vacant buildings. More schools are to be torn down in later phases, but those announced for demolition
 Monday were deemed the most dangerous.

“They have been a real blight,” Bobb said of the build ings.

Ray Litt, director of Histor ic Cass Technical High Preser vation Society, said he is still hoping his group can save the old Cass Tech building, but pointed out they have been un able to get into the building to assess its condition before a bid can be made to purchase. Litt said the group has a devel oper already who plans to turn the building into a mixture of retail, entertainment and of fice space for nonprofit groups. “It appears they’re deter mined to demolish” the build ing, Litt said. 

Facing wrecking ball


These vacant Detroit Public Schools buildings are to be demolished beginning in Janu ary:


Ferry Elementary, 2920 E. Palmer

Owen Elementary, 3033 Fif teenth

Newberry Elementary, 4045 Twenty-ninth

Woodward Elementary, 2900 Wreford

Sherrard Elementary/Middle, 8300 Cameron

Breitmeyer Elementary (and former Foreign Language Im mersion and Cultural Studies School), 8210 Cameron

Detroit City High, 3500 Mc Graw

Sanders Elementary, 8700 Byron

Scripps Elementary, 2100 Hurlbut

Angell Primary, 8858 Petoskey

Cass Technical High, 2421 Second

Finney High, 17200 Southamp ton

Chadsey High, 5335 Martin

Munger Middle, 5525 Martin 

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