Sunday, January 6, 2013

Repurposing an old school

Here is the letter I sent to the committee that's deciding what to do with the property where Bingham school now sits, at the corner of 77th & Wyandotte in the Waldo area of Kansas City. To share your thoughts with the committee, come to the community meeting:

Thursday, January 10
6:00 pm
Keystone United Methodist Church
406 W. 74th St

Dear Ms. White:

Thank you for all the work on the Repurposing Initiative. It has taken tremendous dedication from the whole committee to solicit, analyze, and negotiate proposals for the closed school sites in Kansas City. I especially appreciate the effort that you and the committee have made to include the surrounding community in the conversations and the decisions.

I live a block from Bingham, and so am personally interested in what will happen to that site. It is unfortunate that Hen House backed out of the contract, as their proposal sounded most positive. Their commitment to the local economy and the way that they considered the needs and desires of the community in their planning were great strengths. Since their store was a replacement for the Price Chopper on Wornall, they would have added to the local economy without redundancy.

Now, we are again left with the difficult decision of what to do with the space. As a neighbor, here are my thoughts.

Yes, it’s an eyesore. The abandoned school building at the corner of Wyandotte & 77th St. adds little to the beauty of the neighborhood. The boarded up windows and dirty brick seem despondent and neglected.

But surrounding the edifice are patches of green space brimming with life and action. On any given day of the week, you can find athletes and friends, young and old, playing baseball, football, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee, and even Lacrosse. In the early morning dog owners slip through the gate to let their dogs run free for a few minutes, and on warm days families spread out picnics on the rough grass. Even without a playground, tables, or sidewalks, this area serves as an unofficial park for the community.

The city has determined that empty space is neither profitable nor manageable. That’s true. The old building must go, and the property needs a proper designation. So, how do we determine the best use for this space?

It seems that we have chosen the path of the largest bidder, to sell the land to a developer. Although many potential buyers made offers, only three were chosen to present to the public. The explanation was that these were the only three who offered the price range that the city was looking for. The community gave feedback at a public meeting, and given the limited choices, the public requested the one developer who promised to leave some green space for public use.

Unfortunately, this deal fell through, so we may be saddled with option two, a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market, who promises to remain open 24 hours a day and, instead of green space, will install gas pumps. Who would want to live next to that?

If the city were a business, this would make some sense. But the city is not a business, it is a community, and so leaders must make decisions based on what will best serve the needs of the community.

Take a look around this area of town. The closest grocery store to this property is 1 block away, and it is rarely overflowing with business, most likely because there are 7 more grocery stores within a two-mile radius.

To discover what the surrounding neighborhood wants and needs look at how they’re already using the land: kids’ baseball and football practice, Sunday pick-up Ultimate Frisbee games, weekly Lacrosse practice, leash-free area for pets, play area for children.

Yes, the city is short on cash and could use a few million, but if we invest in the real needs of the residents now, when we have an opportunity, we will spend far less in the future addressing the blight, rise in crime, and rent in the social fabric of the Waldo neighborhood.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. I look forward to the meeting this Thursday when the community will discuss the plans for the future.

Yours,

Dagney Velazquez