Former Washington school to be demolished for housing development

By Cameron Montemayor

A former St. Joseph education building that’s largely been unused for the last 50 years will be leveled starting today to make room for housing development.

City council members authorized a $56,575 demolition contract in November to demolish the former Washington School and one-time apartment building along with the adjacent parking lot at 1015 N. 5th St.

Central Disposal Service is tasked with demolishing the 115-year-old structure, which is filled with property maintenance violations, including holes in the roof and flooring, a collapsed gymnasium, missing windows and collapsed interior ceilings.

Demolition work officially began on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

St. Joseph Interim City Manager Clint Thompson said the process will likely be complete within the next few weeks.

“We’re looking for the structure actually being in a position to be leveled by spring to have that site ready to market that property the first of the year,” Thompson said.

Demolition of the structure will pave the way for the St. Joseph Land Bank, which purchased the property in 2022, to work with developers for housing construction and neighborhood growth.

Attempts by past property owners to market and repurpose the structure ultimately never came to fruition despite efforts.

While the exact type of housing being pursued for the property has yet to be determined, early discussions have leaned toward market rate units.

“We want to take advantage of that momentum of attracting reinvestment in that area. The potential to attract market rate housing is a critical need within our Downtown area,” Interim City Manager Thompson said. “I think once the property is cleared of the structure and it has a more or less a blank canvas, I think you’ll see the Land Bank working to identify interest in that property.”

The housing development project is the latest example of heightened efforts by the city, Land Bank and Housing Task Force to identify property that can be successfully repurposed or redeveloped to boost housing and improve the quality of older neighborhoods.

“As you look at the potential of how you can redevelop and revitalize some of our inner core, it’s going to take a massive approach. But if you have a concentrated effort, I think we’ll begin to have more success in doing some shotgun approach as we’re doing right now,” Thompson said.

Designed by famed St. Joseph architect E.J. Eckel, Washington School was built in 1909 during a time of rapid growth in student enrollment, replacing a smaller 1870s school building at the same location.

The first Washington School in St. Joseph was actually established in 1866 out of a rented building located at 3rd and Isadore streets before new buildings were later constructed.

“It speaks to a time in history when every neighborhood had its own school,” Historic Preservation Planner Kim Schutte said. “Changes that were done impacting ideas about physical education, diversity, making space for children of varying abilities. You see through the history of that one school sort of a history of education in St. Joseph.”

As the City entered the 1970s, shifting residential patterns led to declining enrollment and the building was closed in 1972. The school did reopen for two years to accommodate students while the new Robidoux Middle School was being constructed.

“Most of the people who lived in that neighborhood worked Downtown,” Schutte said. “Work no longer was there and that neighborhood became less populated.”

The Washington School building was later utilized as apartments for a short time before it was abandoned in the later 1970s.