I attended a recent Ogden City council meeting to speak in favor of the proposed new Dee Elementary School project. The School District has had Dee in line for replacement for several years and finally has the financial resources in place to start the project. To maximize the school's positive impact in the neighborhood, it will be relocated to the eastern half of the 600 block between 21st and 22nd Streets. I have highlighted that area here:
The school will utilize the Liberty Park area much like St. Joseph's Elementary has done for Monroe Park at 28th and Quincy Ave. It is a win-win scenario for the city and the School District to make use of the city park in a synergistic way. Land will be procured by the District this next year with construction following the year afterward.
The current school needs to be demolished. It represents a weird period in school architecture experimentation. As you can tell from the picture at the top, it yielded a building that looks like a prison. The floorplan isn't any better. It is one giant open space with no walls separating class"rooms". The recent performance increases at the school are in spite of its design, not because of it.
This will also make a huge impact in the quality of life in the neighborhood. The old Dee School will be demolished to make room for historic style infill housing.
Here is video of the event with more details. My comments are around 1:04:00:
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