Roosevelt Redevelopment Discussion Continues Tuesday at Ames City Council

The purchasers of the Roosevelt Elementary School hope to redevelop the 90-year-old school building using the city's adaptive reuse process according to a staff report that will be discussed at the Ames City Council meeting Tuesday.

If the city agrees, the council will have the power to waive some zoning standards for the project.

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Real Estate Services Group said during an April 22 meeting that they planned to turn the former school building into a condominiums. They expected to build about 23 units within the building and add garages on the site.

However the urban core medium residential zoning in the neighborhood around the school doesn't allow new multi-family buildings. Staff have recommended adding a change to the Urban Core Residential Medium zoning that allows for former school buildings to be converted with the City Council's approval and for density to be increased with an adaptive reuse plan.

The school was built in 1923 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The school district closed the building in 2005 to cut operational costs and put it up for sale earlier this year.

The developer also hopes to use a property tax abatement to fund the costs of some of the reconstruction.