STAPLETON — A new 700-seat school is being planned on the site of a former warehouse building that a nonprofit had intended to turn in housing for people with mental illness.
The earlier proposer was scrapped after outcry from neighbors of the Staten Island site.
Councilwoman Debi Rose announced the city will this month start the formal review process on plans to demolish the former Victory Van Lines warehouse at 357 Targee St. and replacing it with a new primary school.
"I am thrilled that we have selected this site for a new school on the North Shore," Rose said.
"This school will provide quality education in a state-of-the-art building to more than 600 students, alleviating serious overcrowding at several nearby schools."
The Department of Education said it planned to accommodate 700 students.
Rose said the school will be the first new one built in the North Shore in decades.
"As the North Shore continues to grow, I am always taking a comprehensive look at how this growth impacts our residents and it's clear that school overcrowding must be addressed," Rose said. "This is a significant step forward, but not our last."
The proposed site for the school has been mostly unused for years and has been for sale since at least 2014.
Earlier this year, the nonprofit Promoting Specialized Care and Health (PSCH) was in talks to buy the building for $3.2 million and turn it into a 176-unit apartment building with 50 homes being set aside for people with mental illness, the Staten Island Advance reported.
The project was met with fierce pushback from some residents who said the area was already "over-saturated" with social services, the Advance reported.
"We're thrilled this is going to be a school," said Priscilla Marco, president of the Van Duzer Civic Association which was against the plans.
"It’s going to be a positive, plus we’re going to request a slow zone because Targee Street is like a speedway."
Bobby Digi, who was hired as a consultant by PSCH on the project, said the nonprofit eventually dropped the plans because they didn't want to build something the community was against.
"They did not want to have to bump heads with the community on that project, I wasn't going to be part of that either," said Digi, founder of Island Voice and president of the North Shore Business Alliance.
"They felt that whatever project they do, they want to have harmony with the community."
Digi said with the wave of development hitting the North Shore, a school would be a better use for the building.
"I think it's a better idea," he said. "Even though i still feel that housing is needed, I think a school, right now, is what we need the most."
The city will host a public hearing on the plans at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Central Family Life Center, 59 Wright St.
