Grand Rapids — Affordable housing, a community center, an e-sports hub, possibly even another school. These were some of the ideas community members have for the repurposing of the former Alexander Elementary building.
Grand Rapids Public Schools is turning to the community for input about what should be done with two of its shuttered school buildings: Alexander and Stocking Elementary. The district recently hosted a series of community meetings to gather feedback on the matter; two meetings focused on Alexander, and two focused on Stocking.
The district is also accepting online comments about the two sites until Wednesday, Jan. 21. Submit suggestions about Alexander here, or click here to submit ideas for the Stocking site.
Sharing Suggestions, Ideas
During the first meeting about the Alexander site, at 1010 Alexander St. SE, affordable housing topped the list of proposed future uses for the former school.
“This is a great neighborhood for that,” Amy Schenkel, a pastor at Neland Avenue Church, said of the opportunity to use the property for housing. She added, however, that she’d like to see a local development for local residents.
“There is a fear that the property will be developed by an outside partner with no connection to the neighborhood … and displace existing neighbors,” Schenkel said, noting that she’d like to see “a place for the community to say, ‘This is who we are. This represents us, and represents the beautiful diversity of this neighborhood.’”
Jan van der Woerd, of ICCF Community Homes, shared that sentiment.
“Affordable housing that is developed locally and can be owned and rented by residents of Grand Rapids is absolutely a priority here,” van der Woerd said.
Victor Williams, of the Boston Square Neighborhood Association, suggested using the property for a new school site. Williams said he’s spoken with others in the community who’d be in favor of that outcome.
“A lot of people are interested in having a school back in the neighborhood — a middle school, is what I’ve heard from a lot of residents,” he said.
Cindy De Jong, who represented Neland Avenue Church at the meeting alongside Schenkel, applauded the district for inviting the community to weigh in on the future of the school.
“I appreciate that they’re opening (the process) up, and I appreciate that they’re finally going to do something with the property, because there’s been this desire in our neighborhood for something to be done there, and not just let it be a wasted space,” De Jong told SNN. “I’m really grateful that something’s going to happen, and I hope it will be good for our neighborhood.”
Luke Stier, the district’s director of communications, said many of the same suggestions were pitched by community members during the meetings about Stocking.
“At Stocking we heard a lot of the neighbors speak about affordable housing, a community hub and the importance of the green space on the property,” Stier said.
Community Input is Vital
The gathering of community input is just the first step in determining what’s next for the former school buildings, but Stier said it’s a crucial part of the process.
“It’s just so important for us to be able to hear this feedback from our community,” Stier told SNN. “We want to create a future at these sites that aligns with what our neighborhoods would like to see in their backyards.”
The district shared a tentative timeline of its next steps, including distributing requests for proposals later in the month. The hope is to have the Stocking and Alexander projects under contract by May. Stier said the district will continue to engage with the community as it decides what to do with the other GRPS schools shuttered as part of the “Reimagine GRPS With Us!” facilities realignment plan.
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