Public Hearing on Roosevelt Elementary Sale Monday

Residents will have a chance to speak publicly about the sale of the 1923 Roosevelt Elementary to a local developer Dean Jensen during the regular Ames Community School District Board meeting Monday.

Jensen, of Real Estate Service Group, offered the highest of two bids for the shuttered elementary building in February and the school board plans to decide whether to accept the sale after the hearing.

The hearing and another on the plans for the Miller Avenue school to be built to replace the Edwards Elementary school will take place during the regular school board meeting that begins Monday at 6:30 p.m.

Jensen has said that he planned to turn the former elementary school listed on the National Register of Historic Places into condominiums and the district plans to donate some of the green space to the city for a park. Jensen offered to pay $25,000 for the building which board members have said is worth nothing once you figure the cost of demolishing the structure.

Area residents have been adamant about saving the school building and playground where families gather during nice weather. The Roosevelt neighborhood also hosts a concert series on the grounds on Sundays through the summer.

The school on Miller Avenue has been in the planning stages for quite some time. Bids on the project will be opened 10 a.m. Thursday and the board also plans to hold a public hearing on the elementary school plans and possible cost Monday.

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See More on Patch:

Ames City Staff: Transform Roosevelt and Edwards School Sites Into City Parks