Ideas emerge for closed Jefferson County school in Westminster
Jefferson County Public Schools opened for the new year last week, but 16 of the schools that formerly held kids are now closed due to low enrollment. One of those schools was given back to the city of Westminster.
Sheridan Green was an elementary school. Now it is more than 40,000 square feet of imagination.
"The developer who built this neighborhood wanted it to be a community asset," said Westminster City Council Member Bruce Baker. He feels the old Municipal Court should go and be replaced at the school.
"I don't think most of the citizens in this neighborhood really know we need a new court building," Baker explained.
That is just one of the ideas being put forward. The broad options are to keep for the community or to sell it.
The Rocky Mountain Community Presbyterian Church in Westminster would like to buy it for its congregation.
Other suggestions have been pouring in, including;
- A community center
- A homeless shelter
- A senior center
Some people indicated they don't want any more housing, while others requested pickleball facilities.
The city posted two "concepts" on its webpage.
"One (idea) is to basically sell it to a church, and the other is to turn it into a recreational space," Baker said.
He feels that decisions have already been made, but Westminster spokesman Andy Le told CBS News Colorado, "we are in the preliminary stages of studying the reuse of Sheridan Green. Westminster doesn't own the building until Sept. 1, and it would be immature for the city to have a fixed idea of its reuse. Much like a house, you wouldn't plan the remodel until you took ownership of the property, and run it through with a fine-tooth comb."
He added that the community does not want a courthouse in the neighborhood.
On Thursday at 6 p.m., an open meeting will be held at the school to further discuss whether to make something out of Sheridan Green or take the "green."
