Turning Shuttered School Sites Into New Homes

Forced to close schools due to shrinking enrollment, a Detroit suburb is selling its surplus schools to housing developers in hopes that children from new families will prop up remaining schools in the community.

2 minute read

June 7, 2007, 2:00 PM PDT

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"The Royal Oak district is in the process of selling off six elementary schools to developers who are paying cash for the properties and have plans to build big homes on them...Such a plan seems to be unique, as districts elsewhere in Michigan and the Midwest struggle to match facilities to fluctuating student populations."

"The benefits of the plan to the Royal Oak district are two-fold: The developers pay cash for the property, providing funds to renovate still-open schools; and homes designed to accommodate families with school-aged children will be built. Superintendent Thomas Moline reasons that building these larger homes in Royal Oak will attract new residents, increase the tax rolls and ultimately slow the rate of decline of enrollment."

"Having six or seven kids in a bungalow in Royal Oak, those days are gone," he says.

But some neighbors and others oppose the districts plans to bring the new large homes.

"Joe Novitsky, the owner and principal architect of JSN Architects in Bingham Farms, proposed an adaptive reuse for both schools as assisted living facilities with a purchase price of $1.3 million for the Longfellow site and $840,000 for Starr."

"They would be for seniors from the same neighborhoods and keep them just blocks away from their homes instead of miles away from their homes and free up their existing housing for new families," Novitsky says.

"His plan also calls for a first-right-of-refusal for the district to buy back the schools in 15 years, as Novitsky, also a city commissioner in Berkley, believes the school-age population will grow in Royal Oak during that time. He says the district's plan to eliminate school buildings and their grounds "offends" him.

"We lose not only the schools, we lose the park lands. We lose the open space that belongs to the city. That's where my kids learned to fly kites, learned to play ball, ride their bikes, ultimately steer a car for the first time in the parking lots. These are really important places. To lose those would drive me crazy," he says."

Wednesday, June 6, 2007 in Metro Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Close-up of Donald Shoup during interview.

Legendary Parking Guru Donald Shoup Dies at 86

Urbanists are mourning the loss of a dynamic voice for parking reform and walkable cities.

February 10, 2025 - StreetsBlog NYC

Red 1972 Ford Pinto with black racing stripes on display with man sitting in driver's seat.

Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto

The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.

February 11, 2025 - Mother Jones

Row of vehicles parked and plugged in at EV charging station.

Federal EV Charging Program Suspended

The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program planned to fund the construction of hundreds of EV charging stations across the country.

February 9, 2025 - Wired

Firefighter in yellow uniform stands in grassy field monitoring wildfire in the Everglades, Florida.

Federal Funding Cuts Spark Concern Among Wildland Firefighters

Federal firefighting forces, already underresourced, are being slashed even as wildfires become a year-round problem.

47 minutes ago - Pro Publica

Downtown Los Angeles viewed from Echo Park with lake with artesian fountain in foreground.

A Sustainable Future for LA: Updating the OurCounty Plan

Los Angeles County is updating its Sustainability Plan to refine its vision for climate action, environmental justice, and community well-being, with residents encouraged to participate by taking the OurCounty 2025 Update Community Survey.

1 hour ago - Los Angeles County Chief Sustainability Office

Painted bike lane with bike symbol and diamond on street in downtown Toronto, Ontario.

A Troubling Trend of Backlash to Bike Lanes

Some cities are going so far as to rip out protected bike infrastructure that took years of advocacy to build.

2 hours ago - Momentum Magazine

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.