A proposal to relocate the Robbinsdale School District 281 Education Service Center (ESC) and bus garage to the district-owned Hosterman School property at 5530 Zealand Ave. N. was reviewed at a School Board work session Sept. 15.

The ESC currently occupies the southeast corner of 42nd and Winnetka avenues.

Ryan Companies representative Mark Schoening said the property is the key to his firm's $20 million, two-phase plan to redevelop New Hope's downtown area. The plan includes a SuperTarget store on the site now occupied by the ESC, Schoening said.

Ryan is proposing to build a new structure for the ESC east of the existing Hosterman School, which is currently leased to Intermediate School District 287 for special education students.

Ryan Companies would like to have an answer from the school district within two weeks or a month, Schoening said.

"We happen to think it's a tremendous opportunity for the school district to go into a facility for the next 25 to 50 years that is clearly better" [than its current ESC site], Schoening said at last week's meeting.

Construction personnel have identified an estimated $400,000 in environmental remediation needed as a result of underground tanks and previous uses on the school district's present site, which has gas pumps used to fuel its fleet of school buses, Schoening said.

District 281 officials earlier agreed to consider relocating their 38,000-square-foot, three-story Education Service Center and the 47,000-square-foot, 122-bus garage to the Hosterman site, Schoening said, provided that the city of New Hope would agree to consider tax increment financing for the project, as well as rezoning of the Hosterman site.

"Without tax increment financing, this doesn't work under any scenario," Schoening said.

According to New Hope City Manager Kirk McDonald, who attended last week's school board work session, the city is dealing with three issues, including a blight analysis of the City Center area, a Nov. 24 public hearing on the tax increment-financing district and rezoning the property.

The Hosterman property is zoned R-1 single-family residential, while the current ESC site is zoned commercial business district, McDonald said.

District 281 Superintendent Stan Mack said he is concerned about the community's perception of the word "blight."

"That's part of the community uprising I'm already hearing," Mack said. "We [District 281] try to maintain our property. We are very cautious about being respectful neighbors. The owner of the Country Kitchen keeps up his property."

Schoening said the definition of blight is "more structural than cosmetic."

"It has to do with building and energy codes," Schoening said.

Generally, he said, if the cost of bringing a building up to code equals 15 percent or more of its replacement cost, it can be considered blighted.

State law, not city officials, defines blight, McDonald said.

City officials earlier expressed concern about taking another property off the tax rolls in order to relocate the school district offices, but the district's willingness to consider relocation to property it already owns would solve that problem.

Mack said the district might partner with Intermediate District 287 on plans for a new building that could serve both districts' needs.

The District 281 bus garage could take over the current Hosterman building, either in a remodeled or new facility, Mack said.

Sandy Lewandowski, superintendent of Independent District 287, who attended last week's work session, said her school board is beginning to look at the need for better facilities in the northern suburbs to serve its special education students.

District 287, a consortium of 13 area school districts working together to provide special education and vocational opportunities for their students, currently leases space at the Hosterman school.

"Hosterman and replacing it is our highest priority," Lewandowski said. "We know we need new or remodeled space. There are two or three scenarios we should be exploring further."

She said the District 287 School Board is open to learning more about a possible partnership with Robbinsdale District 281 on the Hosterman site.

"It's a very good location, Robbinsdale [School District] is a good partner and we're well integrated into the [Hosterman] neighborhood," Lewandowski said.

Because 50 percent of the special education students who attend classes in the Hosterman building come from District 281, Mack said, sharing a facility with District 287 would make sense and be cost efficient as well.

"It would be far easier for administrators and teachers to place children as close to home as possible," he said.

Though Lewandowski said the Ryan Companies proposal is an accelerated timeline, she "wouldn't rule in or out" the possibility of District 287 partnering on the site with Robbinsdale Schools.

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"That's part of the community uprising I'm already hearing," Mack said. "We [District 281] try to maintain our property. We are very cautious about being respectful neighbors. The owner of the Country Kitchen keeps up his property."

Schoening said the definition of blight is "more structural than cosmetic."

"It has to do with building and energy codes," Schoening said.

Generally, he said, if the cost of bringing a building up to code equals 15 percent or more of its replacement cost, it can be considered blighted.

State law, not city officials, defines blight, McDonald said.

City officials earlier expressed concern about taking another property off the tax rolls in order to relocate the school district offices, but the district's willingness to consider relocation to property it already owns would solve that problem.

Mack said the district might partner with Intermediate District 287 on plans for a new building that could serve both districts' needs.

The District 281 bus garage could take over the current Hosterman building, either in a remodeled or new facility, Mack said.

Sandy Lewandowski, superintendent of Independent District 287, who attended last week's work session, said her school board is beginning to look at the need for better facilities in the northern suburbs to serve its special education students.

District 287, a consortium of 13 area school districts working together to provide special education and vocational opportunities for their students, currently leases space at the Hosterman school.

"Hosterman and replacing it is our highest priority," Lewandowski said. "We know we need new or remodeled space. There are two or three scenarios we should be exploring further."

She said the District 287 School Board is open to learning more about a possible partnership with Robbinsdale District 281 on the Hosterman site.

"It's a very good location, Robbinsdale [School District] is a good partner and we're well integrated into the [Hosterman] neighborhood," Lewandowski said.

Because 50 percent of the special education students who attend classes in the Hosterman building come from District 281, Mack said, sharing a facility with District 287 would make sense and be cost efficient as well.

"It would be far easier for administrators and teachers to place children as close to home as possible," he said.

Though Lewandowski said the Ryan Companies proposal is an accelerated timeline, she "wouldn't rule in or out" the possibility of District 287 partnering on the site with Robbinsdale Schools.

Comment on this story at our website, www.mnsun.com.