One word kept coming up as parents and neighbors considered the fate of the now-closed Sheridan Green Elementary School —community.

Grant Bloom’s daughter attended the school when it was still running and can see the building from his front door. He said wants to see something that the community can enjoy.

“A community center that does not duplicate city park rec center. It can have a library piece to it… serving seniors, serving kids, those kinds of things.” Bloom said. “I’m open to that being done by a private sector owner.”

Parents and residents in the area gathered inside the closed school at 10951 Harlan Street Aug. 24 to discuss potential uses of the property at a community meeting hosted by the City of Westminster. The school is one of 16 schools closed across the Jefferson County School District at the end of 2022 because of decreased enrollment.

The district transferred ownership of the property to the city of Westminster as of Sept. 1.

The city released four concepts based on previous public input that include the city retaining the property and utilizing it for recreation, children’s summer camps, and library options.

The Rocky Mountain Presbyterian Church has also shown intereste in the property and has provided a second option to turn the building into a church, along with afterschool programming.

A third option would combine the first two and the fourth concept would demolish the building and turn the property into a park with an estimated cost between $2-2.5 million.

Courthouse option

An option that the community did not seem interested in was to turn the building into the city’s new courthouse, given that the old building on 3030 Turnpike Drive should go. It’s an idea brought up by City Councilor Bruce Baker.

“I think there are more than four options,” Baker said at the community forum. “My biggest concern is how do we maintain this as a valuable asset”.

Baker said the courthouse would have a low-traffic impact on the neighborhood around the property.

The outdoor space of the property includes the school’s playground and a tennis court. Previous feedback for additional upgrades include options for improving the tennis court and possibly adding a community pool, picnic shelter, and garden, among other additions.

Repairs

Re-purposing the building would require building code updates that could cost between $5-7 million. Major repairs would need to be made regardless of site use and would also include upgrades to the roof, HVAC, and electrical. The 2023 budget in which the city has provided maintenance for the property is set at $134,000 and $170,000 for 2024.

There has been some support and opposition for residential homes being built on the ground, as well as senior housing. But overwhelming negative feedback to use the site for a homeless shelter, though a small minority have supported this use according to feedback received from the city.

The city said they will continue to gather community responses related to the future of the school through meetings and online surveys. Potential uses would then be narrowed down and identified with funding and staffing requirements for city use with interested parties.

The City Councl is scheduled to take the idea up again at the Sept. 25 meeting and staff is scheduled to review feedback and proposed site concepts with councilors then.