NOBLE SQUARE — A building on the former Peabody School campus is getting a $750,000 in renovation money so a nearby charter school that is "packed to the gills" can expand and add a middle school, according to its chief operating officer.
Despite repeated promises by Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett amid the 2013 closing of 50 public schools that they would not be used to house charter schools, reports from around the city suggest that's exactly what's happening to former neighborhood school buildings.
According to a permit issued by the city Monday, the Northwestern University Settlement Association, which operates Rowe Elementary School, is converting the vacant 9,830-square-foot, one-story building at 1434 W. Augusta Blvd. into a second campus.
The estimated cost of the interior renovation is $500,000, plus an additional $250,000 for architectural, engineering, legal and then technology improvements such as smart boards in all classrooms and wireless access, according to Ron Manderschied, president of the Northwestern University Settlement Association.
About three blocks east of Ashland Avenue, Peabody School was one of 50 schools closed by the six-member Chicago Board of Education in a cost-cutting measure two years ago.
Alisa Hauser discusses the plan:
Peabody's annex at 1434 W. Augusta Blvd. formerly housed a principal's office and several classrooms. Peabody's main campus, in a neighboring building at 1444 W. Augusta Blvd., served 266 students and was designated as underutilized by CPS.
Combined with a playground, the 1.3-acre property just west of the Kennedy Expy. was bought for $3.4 million in October by Buffalo Grove-based Svigos Asset Management, which rents out the playground and annex to the Northwestern Settlement House, under the Northwestern University Settlement Association's umbrella.
Named in honor of John Rowe, Exelon Corp.'s CEO, Rowe Elementary, at 1424 N. Cleaver St., opened five years ago and is run by the settlement association, a nonprofit founded in 1891. The group has long held its offices at 1400 W. Augusta Blvd., next door to Peabody School.
Rated a "Level 1" CPS school, Rowe Elementary served 684 students in kindergarten through seventh grade in the 2014-15 school year and is "packed to the gills," with administrative offices crammed into the balcony of the school's auditorium and a waiting list for enrollment, Dan Alexander, chief operating officer of the settlement house, said Tuesday.
On May 28, Rowe's charter license was renewed for another five years by the School Board, and Rowe was also given approval to expand and add a middle school.
Alexander said the middle school expansion will enable Rowe to add up to 168 students in sixth through eighth grades, many of whom are existing Rowe Elementary students. The main Rowe campus will serve kindergarten through fifth grade once the middle school opens.
Aerial view of the nearly 10,000-square-foot Annex building, with a gray roof. [Soaring Badger/Wheeler Kearns]
Chicago-based Wheeler Kearns Architects was tapped to be the architect of record for the expansion. Elsewhere in West Town, the firm designed a 99-unit apartment tower at 1611 W. Division St. and the Wolcott School at 524 N. Wolcott Ave.
Previously in the 27th Ward, the former Peabody School campus is in the city's "new 2," a sprawling ward led by Ald. Brian Hopkins, who opened a nearby ward office at 1400 N. Ashland Ave.
Last spring, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th) held a community meeting to get input from residents about the future of the shuttered Peabody school and said that from his perspective, "most of those that live in the community are very supportive of Northwestern Settlement house."
On Tuesday, Hopkins said that he supports the charter school expansion, as well as Svigos Management's plan to repurpose Peabody's main building at 1444 W. Augusta Blvd. for residential use. Hopkins said local community groups, including the Pulaski Park Neighbors Association, also supported the plan.
"I know there are communities in Chicago that are opposed to charters going into closed schools, but this is something that should be decided locally. I support the plan; it is something the community seems to want. I received a lot of calls and emails from parents of students who support it and would like to see it happen," Hopkins said.
Paul Svigos, owner of Svigos Asset Management, could not be reached for comment on his plans for Peabody's main building at 1444 W. Augusta Blvd. Svigos' firm also owns a former CPS school in Lincoln Park that is being converted into apartments.
When asked why the promise to not open charter schools on the site of shuttered schools was being broken, a CPS spokesman said the decision on what to do with closed schools "is a community-driven process."
In addition to housing a middle school, the new Rowe site will be used for after school and Headstart programs, as well as theater events run by Adventure Stage Chicago, another program run by the Northwestern University Settlement Association.
Manderschied said that the renovation of the annex is the first phase of the project, and within the next two years the agency hopes to add new construction on what is now the playground, which will house an expansion of their Head Start and AmeriCorps programs, youth theater space and an expanded food pantry.
"We are proud of our school, the fact that we are a member of the CPS community of schools, and that it is rated a Level 1 elementary. We are very grateful for the support and partnership we have with so many families and organizations in the community. We also deeply appreciate the support of our aldermen," he said.
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