Last Updated on July 19, 2022, 8:05 PM | Published: July 18, 2022
OKLAHOMA CITY (Free Press) — UPDATED Monday, July 18, 10:00 p.m. — The Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education decided by unanimous vote to demolish the old Administration Building at 900 N. Klein.
This comes after considerable effort has been made through RFPs and meetings with the surrounding Metro Park Neighborhood Association to find the best use for the historic structure.
The cornerstone for the building was laid in 1921 and served as a junior high until it was converted into the district’s administration building in 1955.
On the Board consent agenda Monday night was a simple item number 16.13: “Approve the demolition of 900 N. Klein building.”
The vote was 6-0 with one absent for the item that was a part of the larger slate on the consent portion of the agenda.
The building had been converted to the central offices for the entire district including the board meeting room in the space that was once the auditorium and was useable at the end of June 2017 when all offices and departments completed their move out to scattered temporary locations for the next several years. In the meanwhile, the current central offices at 600 N. Classen were being prepared in a former bank building the district purchased.
Here was our coverage of the decision to move:
And, this is our coverage and full gallery of the interior of the building during one of the days of the move-out:
At the time, both the Oklahoma City Council and the Board were told on several occasions by district staff that negotiations would begin to find the best use for the building.
Hotel?
One hotel company met several times with members of the Metro Park Neighborhood Association as they pursued the possibility of converting the impressive multi-level building into a boutique hotel.
The word from members of the association was that they were all for the idea and the company that seemed to respect their concerns.
Scott Randall, chief operations officer for the district since before the move-out, had appeared before the City Council with assurances that the district would take the responsible route as the City granted $10 million in TIF monies to the new central offices project.
Randall was not available for an interview Monday.
The plan
The official explanation given by staff who prepared the item is: “The building has been vacant since 2016 [incorrect] and would require substantial renovation and updating to be re-occupied in the future. Therefore, the Administration recommends that the building be demolished and that the property be retained for future development due to the close proximity to the Clara Luper Center for Educational Services as well as being centrally located in the District.”
The explanation continues: “The demolition project will be funded by a combination of MAPS for KIDS Sales Tax, 2007 Bond and/or 2016 Bond funds and may, possibly require the approval of the City of Oklahoma City. Once the District Administration receives Board approval, we will provide Midwest Wrecking the Notice to Proceed and obtain a Demolition Permit from the City of Oklahoma City.”
In addition, the proposed contract calls for the former elementary building and then IT department directly south of the Administration Building to be demolished.
Reactions
Free Press interviewed Georgie Rasco, long-term executive director of the Neighborhood Alliance of Central Oklahoma, who had not heard of the plan until our interview.
“I think as a city, we have to honor our history and honor our historic buildings, instead of just destroying them,” Rasco told Free Press. “We need to look at what their value is.”
“There was a lot of interest from people wanting to save that building, and wanting to repurpose it into some great uses for the community,” Rasco continued. “The community of Metro Park rallied behind many of those purposes, and said, Yes, we honor these things, we would love to have some of these uses, and right here in our community, and we stand behind them.”
Rasco said that the community around a building of that significance “should be listened to” on matters that affect their community and the value of their homes.
“The neighborhood needs to have a say, the city needs to have a say, in what history can still be had,” Rasco continued, “and that building has a lot of history and a lot of life left in it.”
Integrated into neighborhood
A quick check of the building and the neighborhood Monday showed that even though the building had a security fence around it and the first floor windows secured with plywood, it still had a presence as a part of the surrounding neighborhood.
Here are some photos showing its proximity:
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
