With school district needing space, city rep. second guessing decision to sell

Roosevelt Elementary to be converted into apartments

A school renovation project on the north side of La Crosse should maybe have never been started.

City council rep. Andrea Richmond is thinking that now about Roosevelt Elementary with the school district looking for space to put kids.

“We could have put money into it – a $1 million or whatever was needed – to upgrade certain things, but I think it should have probably gone that route,” Richmond said of the 92-year-old building.

After a two years of talks, Madison-based developer Gorman and Company inked a deal this spring with the city to develop the school into apartments.  

Richmond is growing increasingly anxious that construction has yet to start.  

“I drive by it almost every singe day – three or four times a day,” she said. “I’ve been on the phone with them wanting to know when the first shovel’s going to be in the ground.”

Gorman’s projected cost of the conversion of the school into 33 one- and two-bedroom apartments is around $6 million.

The company also asked to borrow $300,000 from a city TIF district to help fund the refurbishment.

There is a waiting list of people who want to live in the school, once it gets turned into apartments.