The Days Park community will hear preliminary plans for the future of School 36 which is scheduled to close at the end of June. Elmwood Village Charter School is interested in purchasing the school fronting Days Park and adding 7th and 8th grades. Neighborhood informational meetings have been scheduled for March 26 and March 31 at the Allendale Theater. Both sessions begin at 7 pm.
Reuse of School 36 has been a community priority since the Buffalo Board of Education put the school on the closing list several years ago. The school was granted a temporary reprieve but is now closing at the end of the school year.
According to the Kleinhan’s Community Association, the proposal includes purchasing School 36 and using it for its primary grades, while adding seventh and eighth grades at the existing Elmwood Avenue facility which would be retained for the middle grades. The expansion plan requires approval by the New York State Board of Regents. The charter school has a current enrollment of 175 in grades K-6 at its building at 124 Elmwood Avenue.
The two-story School 36 was built in the late-1950’s and has 36,025 sq.ft. of space. At least one developer had expressed interest in redeveloping the site for residential use.
On nearby Symphony Circle, another signficant property will be looking for a new use or operator. Succumbing to financial difficulties, Grace Manor nursing home (image below) is scheduled to close in May. Residents in the 167-bed facility will be relocated. Grace Manor, the region’s first African-American owned nursing home, opened in 1998. The building was constructed in 1972 and has 124,000 sq.ft. of space.