“Now it’s about going out and finding the developers, the people who have the ability to take on these projects, and getting them talking with the community.” “We have a good understanding of the buildings,” he added. The next step for the buildings is “a three-way match-making process between what the building could be, what the neighborhood needs, and what the developer can do,” said Andrew Wald, a lead consultant on the project and head of the Detroit office for Interboro, an architecture and planning firm. Turner-Handy called them an “eyesore” and said they bring down the value of surrounding properties. Residents have been attending public meetings for years to demand that something be done with the properties. “This plan will make recommendations for the current use of all school buildings, those being used and those vacant.” “The analysis will inform the district’s 20-year facility plan, which will be presented to the school board in January,” district spokesperson Chrystal Wilson said in a statement. That information isn’t included on the project website, but it was provided to the district and will be incorporated into an upcoming facilities plan. Public meetings to discuss redevelopment possibilities are in planning stages, city officials said.Ĭity representatives also created less detailed reports on the vacant buildings still owned by Detroit Public Schools Community District. The documentation, which is available online, includes the estimated cost to redevelop each property along with architectural measurements and a survey of existing land uses, population, and community needs in surrounding neighborhoods. The city covered the cost of a detailed accounting of the 39 city-owned buildings, while the Detroit Public Schools Community District chipped in $223,000 for surveys of two dozen district-owned buildings. The most dilapidated buildings were torn down, but 39 stayed standing and have been largely neglected for years. In 2014, the city forgave millions of dollars of unpaid Detroit Public Schools electrical bills in exchange for some of its vacant properties - 57 schools in total. Like other abandoned properties, schools contribute to chronic absenteeism because they increase students’ fears of walking to school.
Two hundred schools closed during that time, and many remain standing. When they become vacant and deteriorate - as they did in major cities around the country, a trend driven by deindustrialization and white flight - the surrounding neighborhoods often suffer.ĭetroit is an extreme example of school closures, and empty buildings remain a painful reminder to residents of two decades of declining enrollment and disinvestment. School buildings anchor communities, serving as gathering places and public resources or more. When they don’t pick up these buildings and do something with them it represents their disinvestment in the whole community.” “The disinvestment around these closed schools is so evident. They lived on the corner of that street.” “I drive by there and shake my head,” she said. Those price tags come as no surprise to Sandra Turner-Handy, a leader of the Denby Neighborhood Alliance, who lived near Wilkins, one of the city-owned schools, and knows it’s in bad shape. Typical redevelopment costs are $5 to $15 million according to city estimates. While the buildings are generally structurally sound, some have been left open to the elements, vandalized, and stripped of valuable metals. Neighbors have long told local officials that almost anything would be better than leaving the buildings vacant. The buildings could see a wide range of new purposes, including as housing, community centers, industrial facilities, or - more controversially - charter schools.
Over the last year, engineers and architects visited unused schools across the city, measuring the buildings and estimating the cost of repairs hoping to convince developers to find new uses for the schools. The City of Detroit is looking for developers to revitalize dozens of vacant school buildings following years of demands by residents that something be done with the properties.
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