|
Written by Tommy Wells
|
|
Thursday, 19 July 2007 |
|
I have been hearing rumors about plans for the Hine Junior High School site that seem to be causing a bit of confusion throughout the community. I will devote today’s blog to sharing what I know about it.
Hine Junior High is currently a school in use. The Master Facilities Plan adopted by the Board of Education in 2006 calls for closing the school and using the space for the DC Public Schools' central administration and the Board of Education. The site was chosen because it is centrally located for public school parents and easily accessible by Metro. Plans for the remaining space -- because it’s a large site -- would be subject to community input. And the school cannot be closed without a public hearing.
The public school system operates far more school facilities than it needs, draining funds that should be spent on education programs for its students. Of the schools in the Capitol Hill area, the Hine Junior High building is a good candidate for closure because it has no amenities such as ball fields and contributing architecture -- and it's located in the midst of a commercial district that is not ideal for a school. By contrast, Eliot Junior High next to Eastern High School has better facilities and is in a residential neighborhood.
While Hine's use as DCPS office space is up in the air due to the mayoral takeover of the school system, some neighbors to Hine have moved forward with retired architect Amy Weinstein to develop drawings to explore possible public/private uses for the site. Those uses include restoring C Street and the 8th Street streetscape, building affordable housing -- possibly for teachers, maintaining space for the flea market activities, creating a 15,000-square-foot family-oriented public library, adding underground parking, creating more street-level retail and more.
I do not believe it is premature to think about the future of the site, but no decisions can be made until school system under the Mayor begins the process to close the school, including holding a public hearing.
It is a dynamic time for land use planning and change on Capitol Hill. Ownership of the Eastern Market Metro Plaza has been transferred to the District. The Old Naval Hospital is likely to become a new center for community use. The Capitol Hill Southeastern Branch Library has been thoughtfully refurbished. And we are continuing to experience a population boom of young families in the community.
As we go forward, there are likely to be many ideas and plans offered concerning the Hine School site and I am committed to a very public process for making final decisions.
One person has commented on this article. (1) Untitled
2007-07-26 11:53:25 Tommy,
Thank you for the update on the status of Hine Jr. High School. What you don't provide in your update is an idea of the kind of process you believe should be put in place to ensure adequate community input and consideration. The closing of Hine may be less than one year away, so the time is ripe to begin serious thinking about redevelopment. The public hearing to close the school won't likely touch on redevelopment issues.
As you know, there has been some concern recently that development decisions (whether one favors the outcome or not) have not been made with adequate transparency - the Old Naval Hospital, and the Washington Star Building being two examples. The activities of our neighbors in hiring Ms. Weinstein to develop redevelopment ideas may generate some truly excellent plans (and I certainly admire and applaud their entrepreneurship), but that isn't a substitute for broader public dialogue. With the Mayor now in charge of DCPS as well as development generally, early involvement would seem crucial to head off the perception of back room dealing down the road. What's your view on the best way to do this? |
|
Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 July 2007 )
|
Tommy Blog 
