History of OHS

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="2" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03fc8c00dkelyh.png"> <div> <B> </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><B><IMG SRC="0410b120.png" border=0 width="11" height="18" ALT="previous" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><B><IMG SRC="0420b120.png" border=0 width="11" height="18" ALT="next" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B>     </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="18" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="18"><B>  </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ottawa High School Class of 57"><B><IMG SRC="04312120.png" border=0 width="18" height="18" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A></div> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="77" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 30 WIDTH="71"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="30" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="71" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <A HREF="id93_m.htm#ohs_gym_renovation_project" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="History of OHS"><B>OHS Gym Renovation Project</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id93_m.htm#developer_to_buy_old_schooll" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="History of OHS"><B>Developer to buy old school</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id93_m.htm#herald" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="History of OHS"><B>Developer Gets Old Middle School</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id93_m.htm#washburn_towers_filling_up" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="History of OHS"><B>Washburn Towers filling up</B></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id93_m.htm#washburn_towers" TARGET="TRLX_Middle" TITLE="History of OHS"><B>Washburn Towers</B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=94 BGCOLOR="#FF3300" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="0403c5e1dvmwlb.png"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFCC" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>Ottawa High School Class of '57</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ottawa High School Class of 57"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Class Directory">Class Directory</A>   |   <A HREF="id18.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Announcements">Announcements</A>   |   <A HREF="id123.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Class Member News">Class Member News</A>   |   <A HREF="id122.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Message Board">Message Board</A>   |   <A HREF="our_reunions.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Reunions">Our Reunions</A>   |   <A HREF="id273.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OHS Wall Of Honor">OHS Wall Of Honor</A>   |   <A HREF="id49.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Grade School Years">Grade School Years</A>   |   <A HREF="id96.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="High School Years">High School Years</A>   |   <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="In Memoriam">In Memoriam</A>   |   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Missing Class Members">Missing Class Members</A>   |   <A HREF="id120.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="OHS Class of 57 Archives">OHS Class of 57 Archives</A>   |   <A HREF="id27.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A>   |   <B>History of OHS</B>   |   <A HREF="id28.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links">Related Links</A>   |   <A HREF="id119.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Policy and Disclaimer ">Policy and Disclaimer </A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=386 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>History of OHS</I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="ohs_gym_renovation_project"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>OHS Gym Renovation Project</B></div> <div> <IMG SRC="70458ac0.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="428" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I><B>Photo by Laurie Sisk/The Ottawa Herald</B></I><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Steve Foutch, developer of the old Ottawa Middle School project, takes community members on a tour of the condemned facility as participants examine the ceiling of the gymnasium. The gym will be renovated into a private recreation center. Foutch said the wood floor is a bit warped, but can be repaired. The roof has some leaks - which are responsible for the warping - and it is going to be redone.</B></div> <bR> <div> The pep band sat on the balcony above the door. </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald Article contributed by Jim Corcoran</B></I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> ================================================================</div> <bR> <div> <B> <A NAME="developer_to_buy_old_schooll"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Developer to buy old school for $100,000 </B></div> <div> By CLEON RICKEL</div> <div> Herald News Editor</div> <bR> <div> The Ottawa Board of Education agreed Monday to sell the old middle school to Kansas City developer Steve Foutch.</div> <div> On a 6-1 vote, the board voted to accept an offer of $100,000 from Foutch. </div> <bR> <div> Foutch also agreed to provide a $250,000 letter of credit to the school district to cover the eventuality that Foutch's group is unable to rehabilitate the historic building. Foutch's group includes the Ottawa Friends of Historic Buildings.</div> <bR> <div> Foutch said he intends to convert the old middle school into senior housing, loft apartments and a private recreation center, and offer public use of the the auditorium and other spaces. His offer is contingent on two points:</div> <div> * That the city of Ottawa agrees to rezone the site at Fifth and Main streets, and</div> <div> * That Foutch be granted a "five plus five" Neighborhood Revitalization property tax credit. </div> <bR> <div> Five plus five is a 10-year property tax break that gradually reduces beginning with the sixth year. City manager Weldon Padgett, who attended the meeting on another matter, said those processes would take about two months.</div> <bR> <div> Board member Jack Bushman, who made the motion to sell the building, said he was not doing so to see the building renovated. He repeated he wasn't willing to sell the building for $1 -- as requested by two other board members in previous meetings -- but the $100,000 offer was substantial enough to sell the building.</div> <bR> <div> "I guess I have a number of reasons for suggesting this," Bushman said. "We've been at this for seven or eight years ... We need to get rid of this albatross from around our neck we've had for the last eight years when we started this process. I believe it's time to move on."</div> <bR> <div> Bill Allegre, who had resisted any offer less than $250,000 for the old building, also voted to sell the building. He made no apologies for his stand against Foutch's earlier offers. Allegre said he believed his position helped prod Foutch to offer more for the building.</div> <div> "I was trying to get the best value for the taxpayers of this district," Allegre said. Foutch's offer of $100,000 would ensure that "he makes something happen," Allegre said.</div> <bR> <div> "Frankly, I wish Mr. Foutch the best of luck," Allegre said. "I hope that it becomes something viable and that it is a good, strong anchor for the downtown."</div> <bR> <div> The sale would free up about $750,000 held in escrow to demolish the building, Allegre said. The money would be used to pay part of the bond debt on the new middle school and lower the special bond tax levy, he said.</div> <bR> <div> The vote set off applause and cheers from most of the 40 people who attended the meeting.</div> <bR> <div> During an earlier part of the meeting, Elaine Tatham, a polling consultant who conducted a mail-in survey concerning a bond issue, said that the survey had picked up several comments about the old middle school.</div> <bR> <div> "We didn't ask anything about about that," she said. "I was a little surprised by the number of comments we got... That may be something you may have to resolve."</div> <bR> <div> Later, Bushman noted comments that failure to act on the old middle school may have had an impact on previous bond issues.</div> <bR> <div> "You've been concerned about buildings ... I expect to see a lot of you people here at our next meeting when we discuss school facilities," he told the audience. The school district will need help from old middle school supporters on getting a bond issue for new school buildings, he said.</div> <bR> <div> Marge Stevens, one of the board members who pushed the hardest to sell the building was jubilant -- but also speechless.</div> <div> "I've spent a lot of time thinking about what I would say for this moment," she said. "But the only thing I can say right now is that I agree with what Jack said." </div> <bR> <div> Dennis George cast the dissenting vote. He said that Foutch's proposal was risky and that once renovation begins, there could be several problems that crop up that may make it difficult for him to complete the project. He said that the school district might be blamed if Foutch fails.</div> <bR> <div> "I would have a lot of reservations," he said.</div> <bR> <div> Bob Bezek, board attorney, said that if the deal goes through, and if Foutch were forced to demolish the building, he would have to repeat the process that the school board had to do of providing formal notice to the state historic preservation office, and show there wasn't a feasible alternative to demolition.</div> <bR> <div> "I've discussed this with Mr. Foutch and he understands that," Bezek said.</div> <bR> <div> Both Foutch and Bezek said it shouldn't take long to negotiate a final sales contract.</div> <bR> <div> "It should be ready by the next board meeting (in two weeks)," Bezek said.</div> <bR> <div> In addition to working on the city's process for rezoning and providing Neighborhood Revitalization tax breaks, Foutch said he would continue seeking people interested in signing leases for the housing spaces.</div> <bR> <div> "The people of Ottawa will need to be involved," Foutch said. "But I think the hard part is over."</div> <bR> <div> Foutch said if the timetable follows its course, he could start the renovation project later this year.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald Article contributed by Jim Corcoran</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>=====================================================================================================================</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Ottawa Herald</B></FONT><B> <A NAME="herald"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></div> <div> <B>11/18/2004; 02:55:11 PM</B></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>It's all yours, Steve</B><B> </B></div> <div> <B>Developer gets keys to old middle school</B></div> <div> <I>By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Community Writer</I></div> <bR> <div> The old middle school's new owners, Kansas City developer Steve Foutch and the Friends of Historic Buildings, got the keys and got to work Wednesday.</div> <bR> <div> "This is a wonderful day," Mattie Perry, a member of the Friends group, said. "This is the day I was hoping for. "We never gave up," she said. "I believe in this project.  "I think people understand that this is important for Ottawa. It will be great."</div> <bR> <div> As the deadline set by the Ottawa Board of Education neared for the Friends to come up with a plan to save the building, the group contacted Foutch, who responded immediately.  "He came down that afternoon," Perry said. "Right off, he said 'I love this building.' He's a good person to work with."  "I'm glad you found me," Foutch responded.</div> <bR> <div> The school district condemned the building nearly eight years ago, setting off a series of court and political challenges concerning the building's fate.  The roughly $8 million project would rehabilitate the historic building at Fifth and Main streets into senior housing, loft apartments, offices, community space and a private health club.   Foutch said he would tackle the project in two phases, beginning with the southern section of the building. That side of the building would feature senior housing  "We have gotten all our credits and we're going to start work immediately," Foutch said. "We're hoping to open some of the apartments by next summer."  Foutch said the first step is to start pumping water out of the building's basement and stabilize the building.   "We've never been able to go into it so I don't know how much water's down there or if it's in the tunnel," he said.</div> <bR> <div> A crew was scheduled to begin work on the southern part of the building Wednesday afternoon, Foutch said. Marilyn Talbott, Ottawa, and Freone Hollinger, Ottawa, who attended a short ceremony marking the turnover of the property, said they remember attending school at the old middle school. "It makes this more meaningful for me," Talbott said.</div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald article contributed by Jim Corcoran</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>=======================================================================================================================</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <A NAME="washburn_towers_filling_up"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B><B>Washburn Towers filling up</B></div> <div> <B>Some units finished, others coming soon</B></div> <div> <I>By JODIE GARCIA, Herald Staff Writer</I></div> <div> In a three-week span, Ottawa residents have snapped up 50 percent of apartments available at Washburn Towers.</div> <bR> <div> "My residents are very happy," Nancy Lee, owner of the Towers' management company, said. "They're just tickled with their new apartments."</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="316" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 173 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="7a8faa70.png" border=0 width="250" height="167" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 161 WIDTH="306"><div> <I>Photo by Ashley Cross/The Ottawa Herald </I></div> <bR> <div> <B>Carolyn Deeler, Ottawa, left, and Shirley Papps, Ottawa, discuss floor plans with Nancy Lee, owner of Bionic Real Estate Services LLC, Tuesday afternoon at Washburn Towers. Lee helps lease the 22 apartments in the towers, the second and third floor are available immediately and the first floor is projected to be finished within two weeks.</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> The units at Washburn Towers, Fifth and Main streets, are for people 55 and older, or who may be younger than 55 and handicapped, and have a gross household income not exceeding 60 percent of the area's median income.</div> <bR> <div> Lee said 11 spots remain from the 22 apartments that were available. She said apartments on the third floor were ready for occupancy Aug. 7, and the second floor was ready about a week later. The first floor is set to be ready by Tuesday, she said.</div> <div> A steady number of people have applied for apartments since they opened, Lee said.</div> <bR> <div> A March open house first introduced the community to the renovated building, which is being rehabilitated by owner Steve Foutch, a Kansas City, Mo., architect.</div> <bR> <div> The building was Ottawa Middle School until it closed in the mid-1990s. The school was slated for demolition when a group called Friends of Historical Buildings fought to save it.</div> <bR> <div> Lee said people are "very impressed" with the renovations so far and that many can remember when the building was a school.</div> <div> "It's just amazing what they can do," she said of the design. "Steve has a lot of vision."</div> <bR> <div> Once completed, Washburn Towers will offer an indoor swimming pool, community room and an ampitheater for special events. The apartments rent for $339 to $550 per month and include water, sewer and trash services. Cable TV and Internet access will be available soon, Lee said.</div> <bR> <div> Lee estimated that the Towers would be completed in about 60 days. She said crews have been working on the community room, auditorium, cable and Internet. The pool would be open in 45 to 60 days, she said.</div> <bR> <div> For more information about Washburn Towers, call (785) 242-9444.</div> <div> 08/31/2006; 11:54:54 AM </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Ottawa Herald Article contributed by Jim Corcoran</B></I></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><B>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</B></I></div> <div> <I><B> <A NAME="washburn_towers"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="1" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="1" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" ></A></B></I><I><B>Washburn Towers -- Our Old Jr. High</B></I></div> <div> <I><B>September 2007</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="832f44f0.jpg" border=0 width="500" height="335" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>Photograph by Cecil Schneider                                                                                                                             </I><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><I>   .</I></FONT></div> </td> </tr></table></body>