Franklin School Saved?
One of DC's most historic properties, the vacantFranklin School, is in trouble. But some of the city'sbiggest developersare stepping in tocompetetoturn things around.Yesterday, the office of Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor Hoskins announcedthat four groups--led by developers Abdo Development, Bundy Development Corp/Lowe Enterprises, Douglas Development, and EastBanc--have submitted responses to an RFQ to redevelop the 51k SF, almost 150-year-old property. Each developer except Douglas has teamed up with a partner (Abdo with CoStar Group, Bundy/Lowe with National Association of Multicultural Digital Engineers, and EastBanc with the Institute for Contemporary Expression and the ThinkFood Group). The deputy mayor's office says it will issue an RFP this summer, with the winner announced this fall. There's still time to swoop in and make it a school again. "Hurray!" said no student.
