Neighbors to see plans for Davenport's old Taylor School

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By Tory Brecht | Tuesday, August 26, 2008 11:51 PM CDT | () comments

They’ve watched for years as the abandoned elementary school in their neighborhood deteriorated into an eyesore and target for graffiti and illegal squatting.

Tonight, neighbors in Taylor Heights will finally see blueprints and drawings of a project to convert the boarded-up and vacant Taylor School at 15th and Warren streets into senior

housing.

“We’ve been hoping for a long time to have something happen here,” said Jo Souder Vandecar, co-chairman of the Taylor Heights Neighborhood Coalition. “People really want details about this project and want to make sure it is something that overall will be beneficial and will be the right size of a

project.”

This spring, the development group planning to rehabilitate the school into apartments for seniors received a significant economic incentive in the form of federal HOME funding and Community Development Block Grants to bridge a $1 million gap in the $6.3 million project.

The group now plans on building an addition to the rehabbed school to house

41 additional units. These would be marketed to the “frail elderly,” who need some personal services but don’t require full-time assisted living, said Bruce Larson, vice president of community service for Gandolf Group, based in Minnesota.

Gandolf Group is the development group that took on the project after developer Chris Ales pulled out in 2006 due to financing problems.

The addition would boost the total number of units on the site to 82. The additional density will require a rezoning.

“We want to explain what we are proposing to do and allow the neighbors to ask any questions they might have about the project,” Larson said.

The meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Friendly House, 1221 Myrtle St.

Alderman Ray Ambrose, 4th Ward, said the empty school has been a big source of blight in the neighborhood.

“It’s been a horrible burden,” he said. “If it weren’t a registered historic building, it probably would have come down a long time ago.”

Ambrose said he plans to support the rezoning request.

“I can get behind anything that gets something going,” he said. “Just to have this thing moving forward pleases me.”

Vandecar said the Gandolf people have kept residents informed.

“They’ve been good keeping in good touch,” she said.

Like Ambrose, she is hopeful development can help ease ills in the area.

“We’ve definitely had graffiti and vandalism and people living in the building,” she said. “I think it has the potential to be a stabilizing factor in the neighborhood. Hopefully, the owners will be really interested and involved in addressing other issues in the neighborhood, be it crime or whatever.”

If you go

What: Meeting about future of Taylor School

When: 7 p.m. today

Where: Friendly House,

1221 Myrtle St., Davenport

Tory Brecht can be contacted at (563) 383-2329 or tbrecht@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.