Redeveloping Kosciusko: The Options

The Detroit Community Design Center and the City of Detroit's Historic Designation Advisory Board convened the second of four meetings yesterday evening that are designed to solicit community input regarding the potential redevelopment of the historic Kosciusko Elementary (20220 Tireman St.). This school has been shuttered for years now.

The first meeting was designed to identify the strengths, weaknesses and desires of the Warrendale neighborhood. This included strengths such as the diversity of our neighborhood, Rouge Park as a destination point as well as our proximity to health care, nightlife and retail.

During the second meeting, the Detroit Community Design Center presented a series of 16 design options. Each option was designed to maximize one of our strengths, address one of our weaknesses or otherwise meet one of our desires. Some of these options included:

• Targeted residential use for artists or senior citizens;
• Business incubator space;
• Cultural center;
• Music education and performance space;
• As well as several other options.
  

Residents were then invited to vote on what elements of these 16 options they liked the most. Design elements that involved the arts seemed to be the most popular as were those that involved child care.

Architects from the Detroit Community Design Center will next refine their ideas based on the community's feedback on their 16 ideas. This will then be presented at the third meeting, which will happen on Monday, September 21 at 6 p.m. in the Don Bosco Hall (19321 W. Chicago St.). Everyone is invited to attend this meeting, even if you weren't able to attend the first two meetings.