Furor over the fate of historic Roosevelt Elementary School in Keego Harbor continues to build as community members, draped in hazmat suits, rallied against its slated demolition—a destruction due to commence as early as June. The West Bloomfield School District, despite emotional protests and increased buying offers from developers, remains steadfast in its decision to raze the venerable structure, according to reports by Fox 2 Detroit and WXYZ.
Resident Kirsten Douglass, whose son once attended Roosevelt, commented to WXYZ on the communal significance of the school, designed by O. Derrick, Henry Ford's favored architect, and the Keego Harbor residents' disdain for a potential five-acre vacancy in their compact neighborhood, community members pledged to crowd the March 18th school district board meeting to voice their opposition once more, drawing attention particularly to the district's choice of an abatement company with three MIOSHA violations—raising environmental and safety concerns.
Despite these protests and the increased bid from Oakland County Commissioner Bob Hoffman—now at $642,000, said to cover the appraised value of the site post-cleanup and demolition costs—West Bloomfield continues to forge ahead with plans for demolition, with cleanup eyed for April, The Oakland Press reports. The battle for the building has been ongoing since 2017, when the district initially considered replacing it with a new middle school that never materialized, and now developers are champing at the bit to transform the space into loft apartments or mixed-use buildings, offering a financial boon to both the community and the district through taxable income.
Hoffman, who's no stranger to such redevelopment projects, fears district officials may lack the courage to accept his or any other bid—despite assurances from school board treasurer Carol Finkelstein that Environmental Maintenance Engineers' history of safety violations stands out as "troublesome" and a "huge red flag," long term strategic planning and financial health of the district are yet to get laid out on the table for a candid discussion. Superintendent Dania Bazzi maintains that demolition is the best use of the property, and that the resistance to selling to a charter school, which could introduce competition, was one consideration among many driving the decision.
West Bloomfield School District officials have not been immediately available for in-depth comment on the matter or their engagements with interested buyers, as the fate of Roosevelt Elementary swings in uncertainty, leaving parents, citizens, and developers to await a final verdict in a hurried anticipation—anticipation juxtaposed to be the slow, steady ticking down of the clock toward March 18th when the school board convenes to potentially seal the building's demise.
