Catonsville Elementary status in the balance
The former Catonsville Elementary School building faces an uncertain future; the building is currently being renovated to be used as administrative offices by the school system, but discussions are still ongoing about ways in which community groups can also use spaces in the building, which is 100 years old.
School system spokesman Mychael Dickerson said no decisions had been made yet on which functions or departments will move into the old school, but that the system needs a lot of office space. However, it also plans to allow community groups to have some access to the facility.
‘Friends of the former Catonsville Elementary School’, a Facebook group with over 250 members, has urged that the school should be turned into a community center, to replace one that has closed. However, others recommend simply tearing the building down. A report from Manns Woodward Studios, a firm of architects, suggested the latter, saying it would cost about $19m to rehab the building and bring it up to code.
However, Dickerson said the anticipated cost of the renovations would be much less than $19mn, though the estimates are uncertain. He did say it would save the school system money if it used the building, because it is current leasing space for its offices.
Projects like this are of interest to many, and officials could work with a newsletter printing company to create an update letter to keep residents informed of a project's status.
School system spokesman Mychael Dickerson said no decisions had been made yet on which functions or departments will move into the old school, but that the system needs a lot of office space. However, it also plans to allow community groups to have some access to the facility.
‘Friends of the former Catonsville Elementary School’, a Facebook group with over 250 members, has urged that the school should be turned into a community center, to replace one that has closed. However, others recommend simply tearing the building down. A report from Manns Woodward Studios, a firm of architects, suggested the latter, saying it would cost about $19m to rehab the building and bring it up to code.
However, Dickerson said the anticipated cost of the renovations would be much less than $19mn, though the estimates are uncertain. He did say it would save the school system money if it used the building, because it is current leasing space for its offices.
Projects like this are of interest to many, and officials could work with a newsletter printing company to create an update letter to keep residents informed of a project's status.