Crest View Elementary Repurposing Plan Shifts to New Construction
Enrollment at Crest View Elementary in Brooklyn Park has been down in recent years. A plan by Osseo Area Schools to repurpose the building has now shifted to construct a new building.
CCX previously reported on the district’s decision to repurpose last June. At the time, Brian Siverson-Hall, Osseo’s director of community engagement, said the decision was based on many years of research, as well as declining enrollment at the elementary school.
However, when the decades-old school was being assessed for repurposing, it was found that it has structural issues that brought the cost of repurposing the existing building up. That was $10 million more than originally planned, said John Morstad, District 279’s executive director of finance and operation.
Those issues led stakeholders to decide to tear it down and build something that meets district needs more precisely. This decision, Morstad said, is tax-neutral. The construction is expected to cost $26-27 million, which he said fits in the budget with financial maneuvering. It won’t cost more to the taxpayers, he said.
Morstad said though it will be a new building, it will still be an educational facility serving multiple purposes. Tearing down the building is a new mission and Morstad said the district wants to be sure to honor those who used it.
“So, with that, we have to now plan how to properly tear down the building, how to be thoughtful to the students and families who go there and have gone there in the past,” Morstad said. “There’s a number of things planned.”
The district has the same goals in mind for a new building when it is ready in 2027. It hopes to use it for early childhood education, an American Indian Cultural Center and a wide variety of other educational district needs.
