Three groups competing to redevelop blighted former OKC school into housing
Three groups are competing to redevelop the blighted former Roosevelt school, last home to Oklahoma City Public Schools' headquarters.
The three-story building at 900 N Klein was designed by noted architect Solomon Andrew Layton and built in 1924 as the home of Roosevelt Junior High. The 122,000-square-foot school was converted into the Oklahoma City Public Schools headquarters in 1955 and was abandoned by the district in 2017.
Marva Ellard, who redeveloped the Sieber Hotel and is renovating the former Villa Teresa school into a hotel, teamed up with Cathy O’Connor, former director of the Urban Renewal Authority, to submit a proposal to convert the Roosevelt into 96 apartments and build an additional 79 apartments with ground floor retail facing Western Avenue.
What to know about each proposal, amenities offered
The $37 million Coalign development also includes restoring the school’s pool. Ellard said several ideas are being looked at for the school’s auditorium.
Commonwealth Development Corporation of America is proposing to convert the former school into 66 units of affordable housing. The plan calls for creating a greenspace on the surface parking lot where the Coalign group proposed new apartments.
Commonwealth has renovated several historic schools across the country into housing, including the former Dunbar Elementary in Oklahoma City’s John F. Kennedy Neighborhood.
The $20 million development proposal includes a community room, business and fitness centers, and a courtyard with a playground and picnic area.
A third group, Unburden Development Spatium, submitted a proposal to renovate the former school into 10 short-term transitional housing beds, 30 studios and 12 apartments. The proposal did not include a portfolio of past development projects or the overall cost estimate.
The proposal did include a list of potential partnerships with social service agencies helping low-income and homeless residents and how the development would be operated to not just provide housing but assistance to improving lives.
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Proposals were required to include a $25,000 deposit. The Oklahoma City Public Schools district also requires a minimum payment of $2 million for the property.
The school attracted multiple proposals in 2019 when the district first teamed up with the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority to offer the property for redevelopment. The school district pulled out of the deal without explaining why after Urban Renewal chose a group led by Tulsa restaurateur and developer Elliott Nelson.
Several schools remain abandoned without future plans in Oklahoma City Public Schools
The former Roosevelt school is one of several the district abandoned over the years without any future plans. The school district pledged to change its ways after an investigation by The Oklahoman in 2016 and agreed to work with the Redevelopment Authority to find developers committed to restoring closed schools. The 2019 reversal of the pending sale to Nelson was seen as a return to prioritizing money over neighborhood safety and appearance.
The school district sat on the property before deciding in 2022 to spend $764,540 to tear down the landmark. Metro Park neighborhood protests prompted the school district to put demolition on hold and ultimately team up again with Urban Renewal to seek new proposals.
Metro Park resident Joe Slack said Friday he was encouraged by the new proposals.
“I’m excited and very hopeful,” Slack said. “But I don’t want to get too excited when we’re not 100% down the road. You never know what’s going to happen.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Housing pitched for former OKC school once targeted for demolition
