Stapleton gets mulitstory neighborhood schools

The Denver redevelopment is the site of the most comprehensive public education program ever attempted by a new urbanist developer. Stapleton, the 4,700-acre airport redevelopment that has been called the nation’s largest urban infill project, will eventually be home to about 30,000 people, including many thousands of school children. The first 415 households of this new community include 350 children, of which 250 are aged five and under. Developer Forest City Enterprises, which needs to sell many more homes to families in order to succeed, therefore had a vital interest in establishing a high-quality network of schools in the community. Forest City partnered with public agencies and private organizations to create small public schools and charter schools. Michael Leccese, a consultant with Forest City, describes the design of the schools thus: • All schools will be located no more than a half-mile from homes in Stapleton neighborhoods, with no busing required or expected for local school kids. (Stapleton’s grid, sidewalks, traffic calming, and greenways make it easy for kids to get to school under their own power.) • School sites are small (10-12 acres), which contrasts with schools planned like suburban office parks with huge parking lots and vast areas of lawn. Typical middle schools and high schools are 40 acres, while elementary schools are usually half that size. • Large regional schools contribute directly to sprawl by drawing from huge catchment areas. They are often located on exurban sites and attract sprawl in their direction. In contrast, Stapleton schools are influenced by the small schools movement, which posits that neighborhood schools of no more than 500 students offer a better education. • To make small sites possible without taking away space for sports, Denver Public Schools (DPS) and the city’s Parks and Recreation department are cooperating to share adjacent spaces. Local parks will double as school playing fields, as was often the case in older towns and city neighborhoods. For example, negotiations are under way to share school and park land for a new high school at Stapleton. Planners estimate this site will be 25 percent to 50 percent smaller than a typical high school yet will have full track and playing fields. • In another land-sparing measure that restores a basic principle of urban civic design, four of the five new schools planned or under construction are multistory, reversing the long-standing practice of building one-story schools that resemble warehouses. • Schools will become community centers serving everything from early childhood education to classes for seniors. Beyond their 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. primary uses, they will become active places that residents can walk to. Funding partnership Funding the schools has been a major challenge, according to Leccese. Forest City, DPS, Denver Urban Renewal Authority (DURA), and others have forged partnerships. Forest City donated the land — five sites of 10-12 acres each. “This is a real cost to Forest City,” says Leccese. “Under its agreement with the city, Forest City buys land at appraised value (at least $300,000 an acre).” DURA is floating bonds to build the schools, which speeds up the process (renewal authority bonds don’t require voter approval; school bonds do). DPS will then operate the schools. These efforts build upon the Stapleton Education Masterplan, produced by the Stapleton Foundation with 200 educators in 2002. The master plan identifies school sites, partners, and funding sources. The first two schools open in August in a new building. Stapleton Elementary is K-5 for 400 students. It shares facilities and play areas with the 220-student Odyssey Charter School (K-8), an “expeditionary learning” school modeled on Outward Bound. In 2004, the Denver School of Science and Technology will open on 10 acres at Stapleton. With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other national players, the $14 million charter high school will enroll 400 students citywide. DPS, meanwhile, views this as an opportunity to improve its image and overall performance, tarnished during decades of busing and middle-class flight, Leccese says. “The poor image of many urban schools is a limiting factor for urban revitalization,” he says. “Most infill developers rely on a mix of singles and empty-nesters to rent or purchase new residences. It is rare for a new urbanist infill development to compete directly with the suburbs by addressing the school issue head on.”