Austin ISD to discuss future of 6 closing campuses for lease or sale

To decide on the future use of a closing school, AISD officials will evaluate whether the district will need the property within the next 20 years, according to AISD information.

AISD may choose one of the following options for each property:

• Retain ownership while leasing a portion of the former school property to community partners or nonprofits in the short-term
• Retain ownership while leasing a portion of the former school property for 20-50 years to community partners or nonprofits who may renovate or upgrade the facility
• Retain ownership while leasing land to for 50-99 years, which often involves a full demolition of all improvements on the site
• Permanently sell the land and any buildings to a buyer for a one-time cash payment
• Retain the property for educational use now or in the future while monitoring enrollment trends and planning for future facility needs and academic use

Get involved

AISD will hold community meetings at the following dates and locations:

• March 9 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Dawson Elementary
• March 11 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Widén Elementary
• March 23 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Sunset Valley Elementary
• March 24 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Ridgetop Elementary
• March 30 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Becker Elementary
• April 7 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Bedichek Middle School

In late January, the AISD board of trustees approved the sale of the former Brooke Elementary campus in Southeast Austin, which closed in 2020, to Trammell Crow Company and High Street Residential. The development is slated to serve as a multifamily apartment complex with market-rate and affordable units above ground-floor retail, an AISD spokesperson told Community Impact.

In case you missed it

Community pushback and pending litigation has slowed AISD's plans to sell the former Rosedale School campus in North Central Austin to OHT Partners. The developer has proposed building a 435-unit, market-rate apartment complex spanning six stories with a parking garage.

Some community members have argued that the deed restriction limited developers to building one house on a singular lot in the neighborhood and would not apply to a large apartment complex development.

At a Feb. 17 meeting, the city of Austin’s Zoning and Platting Commission postponed a hearing on rezoning the property until March 17. Many residents shared concerns about the development bringing increased traffic and requested that the hearing be delayed until April 7.

Some residents said the city's recent traffic study did not account for a current lack of traffic in the area. The development is expected to increase traffic to around 1,580 daily trips, according to city documents.

“This is so fundamentally flawed in terms of what these 1,400 cars a day will do to the neighborhood,” said Scott Morledge, Rosedale resident and retired real estate developer. “I don’t think there’s any way around this other than postponing, getting better data and information that we can all make a decision on—that includes the developer.”

David Hartman, a lawyer representing OHT Partners, requested that the case be heard at the Feb. 17 meeting due to needing approval from multiple entities to move forward. After receiving a recommendation from the Zoning and Platting Commission, the property will go before Austin City Council, which could also postpone voting on rezoning the site, he said.

“It’s important for us to continue to seek and get our project approvals,” Hartman said. “We believe this case is right for the [Zoning and Platting Commission] to consider today.”