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September 28th, 2009, 03:16 PM
D.C. wants to redevelop Franklin School
Washington Business Journal - by Jonathan O'Connell Staff Reporter
The Franklin School in McPherson Square is a historic site for its construction in the 1860s and a controversial one for its role as a former homeless shelter.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is seeking development partners for the site, one of the last properties D.C. owns downtown. Valerie Santos, Fenty’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, has issued a solicitation for the property with responses due Jan. 19, 2009.
Franklin School is in the central business district, at 925 13th St. NW, the southeast corner of the intersection of 13th and K streets NW. After construction was completed in 1869, it became D.C.’s first high school and is now a National Historic Landmark. Its interior was named one of the city’s most endangered historic places by the D.C. Preservation League, a nonprofit historical preservation group, in 2007.
With facades of dark red brick and limestone, the existing Franklin building is 51,000 square feet, but has only 38,000 square feet of usable space, according to the solicitation. Developers are encouraged to create plans to hire District residents, partner with District-based businesses and use consultants registered with the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development as Certified Business Enterprises.
The school served as a homeless shelter until a year ago when Fenty closed it as part of his plan to restructure the city’s supportive housing services. The closure prompted protests from advocates for the homeless and Fenty did not hold a press conference to announce the solicitation as he has for other development plans.
Many ideas for reuse of Franklin have been floated in recent years, including a hotel by Western Development Corp. and Jarvis Corp., but Fenty is making it available during a time when frozen lending has made it difficult for developers to finance major rehabilitation or construction projects.
Some of Fenty’s searches for viable private sector partners for public properties have not been fruitful, including those for some vacant schools, a parking lot behind the Lincoln Theater, on U Street Northwest, and the Hurt Home, on R Street Northwest in Georgetown. Other properties have received rave response despite the downturn, such as Hine Junior High School near Eastern Market, which received 10 bids, and Stevens Elementary School in Foggy Bottom, which received nine.
Link: http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/09/28/daily20.html
Washington Business Journal - by Jonathan O'Connell Staff Reporter
The Franklin School in McPherson Square is a historic site for its construction in the 1860s and a controversial one for its role as a former homeless shelter.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty is seeking development partners for the site, one of the last properties D.C. owns downtown. Valerie Santos, Fenty’s deputy mayor for planning and economic development, has issued a solicitation for the property with responses due Jan. 19, 2009.
Franklin School is in the central business district, at 925 13th St. NW, the southeast corner of the intersection of 13th and K streets NW. After construction was completed in 1869, it became D.C.’s first high school and is now a National Historic Landmark. Its interior was named one of the city’s most endangered historic places by the D.C. Preservation League, a nonprofit historical preservation group, in 2007.
With facades of dark red brick and limestone, the existing Franklin building is 51,000 square feet, but has only 38,000 square feet of usable space, according to the solicitation. Developers are encouraged to create plans to hire District residents, partner with District-based businesses and use consultants registered with the D.C. Department of Small and Local Business Development as Certified Business Enterprises.
The school served as a homeless shelter until a year ago when Fenty closed it as part of his plan to restructure the city’s supportive housing services. The closure prompted protests from advocates for the homeless and Fenty did not hold a press conference to announce the solicitation as he has for other development plans.
Many ideas for reuse of Franklin have been floated in recent years, including a hotel by Western Development Corp. and Jarvis Corp., but Fenty is making it available during a time when frozen lending has made it difficult for developers to finance major rehabilitation or construction projects.
Some of Fenty’s searches for viable private sector partners for public properties have not been fruitful, including those for some vacant schools, a parking lot behind the Lincoln Theater, on U Street Northwest, and the Hurt Home, on R Street Northwest in Georgetown. Other properties have received rave response despite the downturn, such as Hine Junior High School near Eastern Market, which received 10 bids, and Stevens Elementary School in Foggy Bottom, which received nine.
Link: http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/09/28/daily20.html