The District is still looking to redevelop the Franklin School at 13th and K streets Northwest, but the valuable property will remain a homeless shelter through at least winter 2008 while the city searches for a suitable replacement nearby.
Mayor Adrian Fenty said he would resolve the fate of the decaying Franklin School property by Day 100 of his administration — today is Day 99. The historic 138-year-old building currently houses some 300 homeless men, but District officials have long been interested in its redevelopment in a cultural, educational or economic development vein.
“They’re looking for other options [for the building] but they don’t want to lose the shelter space in the meantime,” Fenty spokeswoman Dena Iverson said.
The Franklin School, a National Historic Landmark located in the heart of downtown, is valued at $10.9 million, according to the most recent District assessment. Long ago it served as a flagship D.C. public school and as a location for Alexander Graham Bell’s “photophone” experiments, but it’s remained essentially vacant since 1989.
The District signed a long-term lease with developer Herb Miller’s Western Development Corp. in 2005 to transform the property into a hotel, but substitute shelter space wasn’t located nearby and the project was scrapped. The lease agreement, however, still stands. Nobody from the District or Western could or would confirm Tuesday whether the sides have talked about a settlement.
“What we hope is that Mayor Fenty will follow through with his commitment to keep a low-barrier men’s shelter open in the downtown area,” said David Pirtle with Until We’re Home Inc., an organization of current and former Franklin Shelter residents. “We are not married to that building. It’s in terrible shape. It’s got problems with mold and rats. It’s seriously deteriorated.”
Ward 2 D.C. Council Member Jack Evans said Tuesday he urged Fenty to decide the facility’s future as soon as possible. The building must either be immediately renovated for the sake of shelter residents, he said, or placed on the market.
“Something needs tohappen here,” Evans said.
