Abandoned school may come down
Dania Beach annex could finally face wrecking ball soon
DANIA BEACH – A deserted middle school that some thought would be torn down long ago might finally be getting its date with the wrecking ball — 26 years later.
The Olsen Middle School annex, built in 1954 and shuttered in 1994, sits next door to the school that replaced it. In the years since it closed, the annex has become a haven for vagrants and critters, critics say.
School district officials planned to raze the old annex long ago, but never did. Now, after years of complaints from neighbors and Dania Beach officials, there’s a plan in the works to knock down the crumbling building that sits a couple blocks east of Federal Highway and north of Sheridan Street.
School Board members are expected to give the plan final approval Tuesday.
Dania Beach Mayor Lori Lewellen says neighbors and city officials have been begging the school district for years to do something about the local eyesore.
“It’s something people have been waiting on for a long time,” Lewellen said. “It’s just been sitting there for 26 years.”
But every time they’d ask dis
trict officials, Lewellen said they were told there was no money to spend on demolition.
Last year, school officials said demolition costs could reach as high as $3 million because the building’s floor and ceilings contain asbestos, Lewellen said.
But the teardown will be cheaper than expected, with the bill running an estimated $710,346, school records show.
The money will come from the district’s $800 million bond program approved by voters in 2014.
School board member Ann Murray, whose district includes Dania Beach, could not be reached for comment Monday.
Over the years, neighbors have complained that the place is a magnet for drifters and delinquents, rats and raccoons.
Mimi Donly, a longtime resident who lives five blocks from the school, says her kids attended the Olsen annex years ago, long before it became “a scourge” on the community. In recent years, she says she’s spotted a fox family and coyote living on the grounds.
On Monday, she said all her emails to the school district have finally paid off.
“It’s been a lot of hard work to get to this point,” she said. “But at long last the school board is keeping the promise it made nearly 30 years ago.”
When the building is gone, 7 acres of land will remain.
It was unclear Monday whether the land would be turned into a park or sports fields or just left as green space.But whatever happens, Dania’s mayor says the city wants a seat at the table. Dania Beach Commissioner Bill Harris says the change is long overdue.
“I’m thrilled that it’s finally happening,” he said. “It’s two blocks from where I live. I drive by it every day.”