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The West Side Grade School. [Michael d\u2019Oliveira\/New Pelican]<\/p>\nThe West Side Grade School. [Michael d\u2019Oliveira\/New Pelican]<\/p>\n
By Michael d\u2019Oliveira | Editor<\/p>\n
Fort Lauderdale \u2013 Over 100 years after it opened, the West Side Grade School is on the verge of new life.<\/p>\n
Originally built in 1923, the school, which is now owned by Barca A Vela Holdings, LLC, is currently under renovation. Once it\u2019s finished and ready, Barca hopes to rent the space to commercial tenants, including possibly attorneys, artists, architects, and a school. Clinton Casey, of The Rotealla Group, the commercial real estate firm representing Barca, said schools have already reached out and expressed interest in the property.<\/p>\n
Located within a residential neighborhood at the end of West Las Olas Boulevard, directly behind the city\u2019s police headquarters on Broward Boulevard, Casey said the location would be a perfect spot for a school because it\u2019s within walking distance for young families.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He called it a win-win, saying the renewed use of the building will prevent vagrancy and create jobs. \u201cEverybody wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patricia Zeiler, executive director at History Fort Lauderdale, agrees that it\u2019s a win-win, including for historic preservation. \u201cWe\u2019re thrilled it\u2019s going to be removed from mothballs and not sit idly.\u201d Asked if the commercial use of historic buildings is an effective tool for preservation, Zeiler responded, \u201cabsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
A commercial entity with an interest in maintaining its property and generating money from its tenants is a way to increase the chances that the historic property will still exist decades later. In 2024 according to the Miami Herald, the 122-year-old DuPuis Medical Office in Miami\u2019s Little Haiti neighborhood was demolished after it partially collapsed. The collapse was attributed to \u201cdemolition by neglect.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the article, \u201cThe developers say the structure, unoccupied for decades, was already in a state of severe deterioration and too far gone to be saved when they bought it in 2014 . . . City spokeswoman Kenia Fallat said the city had no choice but to demolish the structure once its south-side and arcade roofs fell in.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Casey, the building was in need of a minor roof repair and 300 new floor support joists, but was in otherwise good condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The county, he said, performed a lot of important work to bring the building up to modern standards, including updating its electrical system and meeting ADA requirements. Each room in the two-story building is between 600 and 700 square feet.<\/p>\n
The last time West Side, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was occupied was 2010 by the now defunct Broward County Historical Commission.<\/p>\n
Zeiler, who was working for Broward County and left her position the day after the school was occupied by the historical commission, called the building beautiful but in need of some major repairs at the time, including mold removal.<\/p>\n
She said the school, which is the same design as Fort Lauderdale\u2019s other historical schools, including the South Side School, represents old Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
South Side, which is located on Andrews Avenue, is now known as the South Side Cultural Arts Center. Built in 1922, the building is currently being used by the Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation Department.<\/p>\n
In February of 2010, officials from the county and Fort Lauderdale held a ribbon cutting ceremony at West Side, celebrating its use as offices for the historical commission. By the end of that year, the doors were closed again.<\/p>\n
In one of the building\u2019s hallways, a plaque commemorating the Helen Landers Room sits propped up against a wall, a reminder of its former use. Landers, who served as the county\u2019s official historian, died in 2016. \u201cIt was a comedy of errors,\u201d said Zeiler. \u201cWhen it closed it was a great disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those interested in renting space at West Side can call The Rotella Group at 954-568-9015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The West Side Grade School. [Michael d\u2019Oliveira\/New Pelican] By Michael d\u2019Oliveira | Editor Fort Lauderdale \u2013 Over 100…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-194046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194046"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194046\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}