Quinton Rivers, rear, cuts the hair of Myles Davis at the Emily Griffith Technical College. The school serves up to 9,000 students in its location at 1250 Welton St. That building's most recent addition was constructed in 1956.
Denver Public Schools plans to purchase a downtown 13-story office, to which it will relocate administrative offices and the Emily Griffith Technical College.
The building will also house the new Downtown Denver Expeditionary School.
The school district has reportedly entered into an agreement to pay $19 million for the building, at 1860 Lincoln St., while selling the Emily Griffith building.
The transactions, which must be approved by the DPS board, are part of a complex, multiproperty deal that includes DPS trying, again, to sell its current administrative headquarters at 900 Grant St. The district previously put that building on the market in 2007, but didn't find a buyer.
Mayor Michael Hancock said the proposal reflects "an innovative and thoughtful" approach to providing education downtown.
"It also has the added benefit of bringing new energy and economic opportunity to the city's urban core," Hancock said.
The sale of the Emily Griffith building, which sits on a prime location near the Colorado Convention Center, to a private owner carries with it potential for new tax revenue for the city.
The district estimates that the moves will save it between $5 million and $15 million over the next five years through the sale and through consolidating administrative offices that are now scattered around the district.
The Downtown Denver Expeditionary School, an elementary school scheduled to open next fall, is the result of collaboration among several community groups, including the Downtown Denver Partnership, and will serve the children of families who live and work downtown.
Money to buy and renovate the Lincoln Street building will come courtesy of voters, who last month approved a bond measure that included $26 million for Emily Griffith relocation and renovation.
The technical college, which is part of DPS, was founded in 1916 and is housed in a building nearly that old at 1250 Welton St.
The school serves as many as 9,000 students in its trade and technical schools, English as a Second Language courses, high-school equivalency study courses and adult-education classes.
Jeff Barratt, executive director of Emily Griffith, said the school has been "bursting at the seams for years."
Part of the existing building dates to 1927; the newest addition to it was built in 1956.
Barratt said some parts of the existing school won't be relocated to 1860 Lincoln, including the auto-repair, heating-and-air- conditioning, and welding trade schools.
The district and Emily Griffith leaders have looked at several possible new sites for those activities but haven't settled on one yet, Barratt said.
The city and DPS are also trying to swap 11.5 city-owned acres abutting Paul H. Hentzell Park in east Denver's Hampden Heights neighborhood for a DPS office on West Fox Street.
Hancock wants the Fox Street property to serve as a shelter for victims of domestic violence, while the school district would like to build an elementary school with a kindergarten and preschool on part of the vacant property.
That proposed trade, however, has upset several Hampden Heights residents, who say they oppose any development on the site.
The DPS board is scheduled to vote on the purchase and other elements of the proposal Dec. 20. If approved, renovations will take a year to 18 months. The district hopes to have all schools and staff moved within the next 18 months.
Karen Aug?: 303-954-1733, kauge@denverpost.com or twitter.com/karenauge
daylight saving time 2012 grapes of wrath silent house nfl mock draft project m rubio colts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.