Middle School Task Force Pitches Community Center

The new Greenbelt Middle School, expected to house students and teachers by fall 2012, has left city officials with plenty to ponder over what becomes of the old middle school, comprised of 93,000 square feet of potential opportunity.

Last night, members of a task force charged with drumming up recommendations for the school building presented the Greenbelt City Council with a conclusion: They recommended that a comprehensive community center should take the school’s place, offering a wide array of public and private services that could include after-school mentoring and tutoring, a fitness center, childcare facility, technology lab and fine arts program, among other things.

David Lange, who chairs the task force, characterized the recommendation as one of necessity, of providing equal services to a portion of the city that doesn’t readily benefit from what is offered in Old Greenbelt. “There’s an inequity in terms of where they (services) take place,” Lange told the city council. 

Yet high costs clearly pose the biggest threat to whether city leaders will commit to making use of all or a portion of the historic building, which is currently owned by the county school system.

“The question it comes down to is cost, cost, cost,” said Mayor Judith "J" Davis, posing what largely remains an elusive figure to both the council and task force.

As of now, the county has allocated $6 million to restore and preserve the building. In coordination with the Board of Education, the city of Greenbelt could secure the building at a nominal price through the county.

With that in mind, Lange and his task force provided the council with packets chocked full of key points, cost estimates and diagrams — efforts that were duly noted by the council for their clarity and comprehensiveness.

“While (your) words are appreciated, council action would be appreciated even more,” Lange said, prompting a good spell of laughter within the conference room.

Making use of the entire building seems out reach, Lange acknowledged, with a total conversion of the building running about $15 million and annual operating costs hitting nearly $2 million.

But making partial use of the building could work, Lange said, presenting two options to the council: Option "A" would make use of nearly 30,500 square feet of space, preserving several portions of the historic building — dating to as far back as 1937 — that would include five labs and classrooms, seven storage rooms and a boiler room.

The initial costs associated with this approach would amount to nearly $5.3 million, with an anticipated annual operating cost of $600,000, according to task force documents. (The operating costs are based on an estimate of $19.50 per square foot, a number derived from what the Greenbelt Community Center costs.)

According to documents, roughly 50 percent of the operating costs and program costs of the Greenbelt Community Center are derived from fees and rentals; tax revenues cover the other half.

At a cost of nearly $7 million, option "B" includes all of option A as well as a media center, 10 more classrooms, three storage rooms, an art and media center, lounge and health room. The annual operating costs for that would run about $900,000 annually, according to Lange and task force documents.

Neither estimate, Lange acknowledged, factors in the need for elevators and other costs associated with older buildings, including the possibility of significant asbestos issues.

While Lange offered some indication of what type services would be made available within the community center, fleshing out those details could also significantly impact the final costs of either approach.

“We always have a problem with underestimating (the cost of) things,” said Councilman Rodney Roberts, who nonetheless said he would like to see more of the property saved and utilized.

According to Lange, the old school’s 93,000 square feet of “useable space” is 145 percent larger than the Greenbelt Community Center. Under either plan, large swaths of edifice would need to be leveled in order to keep costs down.

“Personally, I think it’s foolish to waste a new building,” said Roberts.

Mayor Davis seemed, at one point, to agree that saving the entire building remains out of reach, calling some of the costs presented a “reality check.”

But whatever comes of the space, she emphasized the community center would not shift services away from Old Greenbelt. Rather, it would add to the services available in the city and offer residents a chance to “mix and mingle” within other areas of the city.

The council has scheduled a work session for July 25 to further discuss and assess the task force’s recommendation. As Councilman Edward Putens noted, moving forward on a new community center may likely require a bond issue to be voted over by Greenbelters.

“There would have to be acceptance from the community,” he said, calling it “very vital."