Closed Norwood Elementary to be business center, senior housing

[thelakelander]

It’s a nostalgic relic of the old brick school, but it also represents the community focus the building will have when the project’s complete.

Johnson and his nonprofit, Grace and Truth Community Development Corp., bought the closed school in December from the Duval County school system for $200,000.

Plans call for restoring and keeping most of the 25,000-square-foot structure, save for one wing added in 1964 that will be demolished.

When the $15 million to $16 million project is finished in 2012, it’ll include 84 affordable housing units for seniors, about 12 spaces for businesses in former classrooms and a shiny auditorium â€" with a ticket window â€" that’ll be open to the public.

The old auditorium seats about 500 people and will be open for community meetings, talent shows and other events, Johnson said.

full article: http://www.jacksonville.com/news/metro/2009-04-29/story/closed_norwood_elementary_to_be_business_center_senior_housing

[Jason]

I wish them the best of luck.  Its people/groups like this that turn an area into a neighborhood.

[urbanlibertarian]

^^Hear, hear.

[KenFSU]

My wife's first teaching job was at Norwood. We both absolutely loved the school. The school was such an anchor of that neighborhood for nearly a century, I'm glad that (in a way), it will be given back to the neighborhood via this new business center.

[gmpalmer]

$200,000?

Are you sh*tting me?  $200,000?

I could have gotten a group together with $200,000 and I would have turned it into an awesome castle and home for my evil empire.  What the heck?

Or did they sell it for such a token sum because the group was going to allegedly "give back" to the neighborhood

when in fact they will cough and spit at the project for a few years, run out of funding, and continue to leave it as an empty husk

like all things in our "fair" city.

[gmpalmer]

That's $8 a square foot -- not counting the HUGE playground!

And they got it with a city-backed loan? 

Who gets these deals?  Where are they advertised?

[urbanlibertarian]

The group probably worked with the district city council member.

[gmpalmer]

I want to work with a district city council member.  I'm a certified teacher with multiple endorsements, 9 years of experience, and national literary reach (not a lot, but I knows me some folks) I can bring a lot to the Norfside in terms of awesomeness and culture.  I can haz old bilding plese?

[billy]

not cheezebeger?
sorry recovering lolcats addict

[gmpalmer]

sokay -- that was the point

What about Lawton elementary?  It's also closed.  Can I get that for 200k?

[Timkin]

$200k seems like a give-away price for a building and property..   Isn't the Lola Culver School also decommissioned?  guess it will be a bargain for somebody someday as well.