The ongoing saga of what to do with the 1922 portion of the Annandale Middle School will continue for at least a few months into the new year. At the December Annandale School Board meeting, the two groups that have expressed interest in finding a repurpose for the building were given 90 days to come up with detailed proposals.

I am in favor of finding a new use for the building. I like buildings of that era and would like to see it remain for many years to come - it gives our downtown area "character."

The school board for the past year has made it clear that the district has no use for the 1922 wing of the middle school and would like to see it either sold or demolished. The district does not want to be landlords, nor incur any costs associated with re-purposing.

A dedicated group headed by community leaders, Jill Bishop, Laura Hood Beckman and Rose Mary Nelson convinced the school board in late 2012 to give them time to find a re-use and possible buyer for the 1922 building. The board gave the group one year or until the December 2013 board meeting; if a buyer had not been found by then, demolition would be scheduled for the summer of 2014.

Over the course of the year a study was commissioned and a very impressive historic properties reuse study was presented to the community this past October.

While there was still no buyer for the building, the ACT 1922 Building ReUse Committee submitted a proposal as an alternative to purchasing the building in November. The group proposed to lease the lower floor and gym as a community center for two years while investigating options for long term use. The proposal also said the school district could terminate the second year of the lease, if there had not been satisfactory progress in finding a permanent use for the 1922 building. It was my gut feeling that come this past December's board meeting, the board would not have approved the proposed lease and since no buyer had been found, the building would be scheduled for demolition in the summer of 2014.

The school district has the money right now to cover the $900,000 demolition costs; as there is money left over from the construction of the Annandale Elementary School. The district needs to use that extra money by the summer of 2015 or it goes back to the taxpayers.

There are other projects the district could use that left over money for; the roof on the high school is due to be replaced soon and other projects need attention too. 

The problem is, what if two, three or four years down the line the community center idea does not work out? The district once again has a vacant, deteriorating building on it's hands and since it spent the current money on other projects, no money to demolish the building. They would have to ask the taxpayers for the million dollars and they may not be too inclined to vote for such a levy, given that the district had the opportunity to pay for the demolition in 2013.

The board did not have to make the decision to accept or reject the lease proposal at the December meeting. A new possible buyer emerged, Dan Kaufman and his business Startide, a technology focused engineering firm headquartered in Kihei, Hawaii. Startide is interested in re-purposing the 1922 building into a data center. Kaufman converted an old school into a data center in St. Louis Park. He has indicated that he likes to see older businesses preserved.

The entrance of Kaufman and Startide changed the picture somewhat. An ongoing business wanting to utilize the site seems more secure. Startide however has not given any indication that they are willing to buy the building.

Kaufman has indicated that he is very interested in working with the ACT ReUse Project Steering Committee's vision of a community center on the first floor of the 1922. That is very good news.

I would hope that at the end of 90 days, Startide would agree to buy the building (for a $1) and become the community center's landlord. Hopefully Startide will see the project to be financially viable for them.

The ReUse committee has done a fantastic job of keeping the 1922 from demolition. They are a "never give up" group. Let us hope an agreement can be reached where everyone gets what they want.