In the search for solutions to address the housing shortage, one idea seems to be gaining traction in Oklahoma: reclaiming and restoring abandoned schools and giving them new life as housing. This trend is particularly exciting as all too often when a school is closed, the surrounding neighborhood rapidly declines. A neighborhood school is often the center of pride and activity for a community. But once a building is shuttered, what generally follows are unkempt grounds and vandalism. This leads to blight, and that blight can spread quickly to the surrounding neighborhood.
The City of Oklahoma City has targeted the Metro Park neighborhood for reinvestment, but the community is flanked on three sides by closed schools. Once beautiful, historic buildings have become a public nuisance with vandalism, shootings, fires, and other public safety issues. Ideally situated in the city’s southwest corner of downtown, the empty schools in this area have become the major obstacle to revitalization efforts for the residential neighborhood and have led to the stagnation of the area’s commercial corridor.
But, there are some promising projects and success stories taking place in Oklahoma. Some current projects include:
- Oklahoma City’s Page Woodson project has spurred a true revitalization in the city’s Northeast side that continues with an addition announced today of a $6m commemorative plaza to add to the grounds. See the story in The Oklahoman.
- Also in Oklahoma City’s Northeast side, the long-shuttered Marcus Garvey school is being transformed into affordable senior apartments by Harmony Redevelopment.
- The model is also trending in small communities, with Tulsa’s Stuart McDaniel purchasing closed high schools in Drumright and Seminole with plans to turn both buildings into much-needed housing.