Northfield Middle School REUSE FEASIBILITY STUDY 11 February 2002 Revised RFQ: 6 August 2002 In addition to numerous Northfield community members who have contributed to the information provided in this report, the following Middle School Reuse Committee Members and School District representatives have given generously of their time. Middle School Reuse Committee Members: School District Staff Resources: Dixon Bond Doug Crane Kim Brouillet Don Warhol Cliff Clark Terry Tofte Christie Clarke Jane McWilliams Bill Nelson SMSQ Consultant / Facilitators: Brett Reese Steve Edwins Richard Reynolds Alice Ritari Bardwell Smith Steve Wilmot Dan Stadler Karen Zimmerman SMSQ Architects, Inc. Northfield, Minnesota REUSE STUDY TABLE OF CONTENTS A. Executive Summary page 4 B. Reuse Issues: A List of Primary Concerns page 6 What are the major issues identified by the Committee relating to reuse of the Middle School? C. Recommended Goals for Successful Reuse page 6 What five criteria most succinctly define successful reuse of the Middle School? D. Reuse Laundry List: Comprehensive Listing of Reuses Considered page 7 What reuse possibilities have been brought to the attention of the Committee? E. Primary Preferred Options for Reuse (it may be possible to combine all four) page 9 Of all possible reuses identified, what reuses hold the most potential to effectively address Reuse Issues AND meet Recommended Goals for Successful Reuse? 1) Community Multi-needs Reuse 3) Arts Dominant Reuse 2) Housing Dominant Reuse 4) Business Commercial Reuse F. Summary of Ownership & Operations Issues page 14 How can different ownership or operational strategies affect successful reuse? G. Goals & Options: Performance Evaluation page 15 Considering the Goals For Successful Reuse, which Primary Preferred Options for Reuse are best? H. Uses and Places: Building Spaces & Most Appropriate Reuse page 18 What types of spaces exist within the Middle School building and how can these spaces be most efficiently converted for new uses? I. Spatial Diagrams (A graphic depiction of existing building spaces) page 20 J. Preliminary Financial Pro-forma & Case Studies page 24 What potential funding exists for the Preferred Options for Reuse? How have similar projects been financed? K. Sample Developer Request for Proposals page 27 What information might the School Board wish to include in any RFP sent to interested reuse developers? SMSQ Architects -Northfield Middle School Reuse Page 2 of 55 File 3EBAAE90-2C3C-20F823.doc SMSQ Architects -Northfield Middle School Reuse Page 3 of 55 File 3EBAAE90-2C3C-20F823.doc TABLE OF CONTENTS continued L. Additional Information What other information is useful to consider? 1. Reuse Study Interview List: Extensive interviews were conducted to page 36 gauge community interest in various reuses for the Middle School. 2. Middle School History: What is historically significant about this building? page 37 3. Case Studies: What other projects have companies like MetroPlains and page 39 Artspace Projects Inc. completed that are similar to the Housing Dominant and Arts Dominant Reuse options? 4. Letters of Interest: What groups have expressed a serious intent for page 41 involvement in this project? 5. Other Studies: What recent studies relate closely to Middle School Reuse? page 47 6. Relevant Web Sites: What web sites provide additional information about page 48 the Northfield community or similar adaptive reuse projects? 7. Public Forum Questionnaire (available at Online Forum) page 52 SMSQ Architects -Northfield Middle School Reuse Page 4 of 55 File 3EBAAE90-2C3C-20F823.doc A. MIDDLE SCHOOL REUSE FEASIBILITY STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The initial charge of the Middle School Reuse Committee has been completed: “to provide a list of several potential viable re-use options to the Board of Education by December 10, 2001.” This final report builds upon the initial findings presented at the December School Board meeting along with significant additional information. The Committee has convened fourteen times since August of 2001 to prioritize goals, formulate process, review previously published data, and interview community members about reuse of the Middle School. Committee discussion led to a commitment to discover Reuse Options that best serve the Northfield Community of the future. The Committee first identified the community’s Primary Concerns about reuse (see page 5), later refined into goals that have served as baseline criteria to judge the quality of potential reuses. These Recommended Goals for Successful Reuse include: That a Significant Community Use for the building will remain, Economic Feasibility will be achievable within a reasonable time, the new use will provide Downtown Support for the existing Central Business District (CBD), Historic Preservation will be accomplished for the significant historic fabric of the building, and the reuse project will remain a Good Neighbor to the adjacent Central Park residential area. The Committee conducted numerous interviews with community leaders, regional organizations, Middle School neighbors, and prospective developers of successful school reuse projects. The Committee then evaluated responsible reuses for the Middle School building, and proactively solicited widespread community input. The proposed reuse scenarios expressed in this report are based upon this active community participation. After compiling and reviewing an extensive list of potential reuses (see Reuse “Laundry List,” page 6), the Committee found that four (4) options best met the goals for reuse. The Committee believes that all four of the recommended options could be successfully developed for the existing Middle School site, if supported by suitable proposals. The four Primary Preferred Options for Reuse include: o Community Arts Dominant Reuse (highest recommendation) The building could house a mixed use that focuses on arts and education, including artist studios, artist housing, exhibition and gallery areas, small performance areas, coffeehouse, commercial and office spaces, workshops, community performance hall and gymnasium, conference and presentation rental space, and other mixed use spaces. School use (SEMSAT, Montessori, ALC) would be a compatible fit with the Arts Dominant Reuse (see Option 3, page 10). o Community Multi-Needs Reuse This option includes a Mixed Use of educational and community reuses such as: school use (SEMSAT, Montessori, ALC), college office “swing space,” incubator spaces, arts studios, community performance hall, recreation gymnasium, youth activities spaces, nonprofit offices, and community storage (see Option 1, page 8). o Housing Dominant Reuse Housing geared toward the Northfield market demand may include individual or cooperatively owned housing, hotel, market rate or subsidized rental housing, targeted housing (such as senior or “affordable” housing), along with other mixed uses (see Option 2, page 9). o Business Commercial Reuse SMSQ Architects -Northfield Middle School Reuse Page 5 of 55 File 3EBAAE90-2C3C-20F823.doc Business reuses compatible with the residential setting and supportive of the downtown may include a combination of light assembly, professional offices, commercial businesses, restaurant, movie theater, and conference facilities (see Option 4, page 11). SMSQ Architects -Northfield Middle School Reuse Page 6 of 55 File 3EBAAE90-2C3C-20F823.doc EXECUTIVE SUMMARY continued Although all four reuse options hold high potential for viability, the Committee believes that detailed feasibility of one of the four should be investigated first. Considering all information gathered to date, and based upon discussions with community representatives, the Middle School Reuse Committee recommends initial investigation of Community Arts Dominant Reuse for the following reasons: 1. Community Arts Dominant Reuse permits significant ongoing public access to the Middle School building, while providing a unique use supportive of Northfield as an Arts Community in the broadest sense. This reuse could play a new role in community education, by housing supportive educational entities such as the SEMSAT Charter School (also a major source of operating capital). Arts Dominant Reuse scenarios also demonstrate viability to retain community use of the auditorium and gymnasium, owned and programmed comprehensively along with other building areas. 2. Building reuse for the arts could include artist studios, galleries, living spaces, and workshops, deemed economically feasible within a reasonable period. If the Middle School reuse is established as a nonprofit organization maintaining artist studios or residences, gentrification is lessened, permitting stable, ongoing affordable living spaces for a wide variety of artists. 3. An Arts Dominant Reuse supports the downtown through increased numbers of nearby residents with a complementary, non-competing use. Unique community activities generating increased tourism would be possible, thus enhancing Northfield’s identity and unique sense of place. 4. With Arts Dominant Reuse, many areas of the building would be reused with relatively lower cost remodeling. Modest remodeling fosters respectful historic rehabilitation, ease of reversibility, and lower rental rates. 5. Community Arts Dominant Reuse that supports a community of artists will continue to be a “good neighbor” to the surrounding Central Park neighborhood, generating minimal vehicle traffic, and requiring modest parking and building revisions. 6. The proposed Community Arts Dominant Reuse is a mixed