As we first reported last year, it was the Children’s Day School that ended up purchasing the “Castle on the Park” at 601 Dolores with plans to convert the 17,000 square foot building from a private residence into a school.
Next week, San Francisco’s Planning Commission will review the Children’s Day School’s application for the conversion of 601 Dolores and its plans for the building.
As proposed, a roof deck and garden will be built upon the southeast corner of the building and the garage at 601 Dolores will become the school’s reception hall and classrooms, with the garage entrance on 19th Street becoming the school’s primary entrance.
And with respect to increased traffic concerns around the park, “CDS would have students that attend 601 Dolores dropped‐off at 333 Dolores Street and the students would walk to the school from there.”
Cannot even imagine learning in an underground classroom. I loved the classrooms that had a lot of windows and hated the ones built in the 60’s and after that had minimal windows. Also, it is completely unreasonable to think students will be dropped off 3 blocks away. Who are they trying to fool?
Hahaha, ‘increased traffic concerns around the park.’ A few hundred students and their parents will be a drop in the bucket. On a moderately sunny weekday, let alone weekend day, you won’t notice the day schoolers among the hipster hordes. The project is great, much nicer than the condo monstrosity the guys a block up Dolores were trying to do to the beautiful old Christian scientist cathedral. And I don’t know where Marten gets the underground classroom idea, those garages are partly below grade but not underground.
Its hard to believe that the project sponsors expect that people will buy the remote dropoff story. Maybe they’re school administrators who are accustomed to spinning tall stories for eight year olds. If the school tries to enforce this remote dropoff rule then parents will just drop off somewhere else closer in the hood like Oakwood and 19th.
Jack – Yes, if spread over the whole day that extra Pickov Andropov traffic won’t be noticeable. However instead the traffic will be concentrated in two bursts just before and after school. Especially the drop off traffic tends to be focused on a ten minute period of chaos. Fifteen minutes later you’re back to calm streets.
Its awesome to see this great building put to use. This structure and location is much more suited as school than a single family home.
Hey people, this is going to be a school. The drop off twice a deal is hardly worth discussing.
We live in a city, not the forest. Get used to it.
601 will house the middle school, the current school location at 333 will be converted to the middle school and administration. So yeah, a good portion will definitely use the remote drop off.
“333 will be converted to the middle school” make that converted to the preschool and elementary…
This is a great use for the old building and creates a much more “balanced” neighborhood. Not just for hipsters!
MOD: 3 points for the Car Talk reference.
Did they ever actually get the money for this? I thought they agreed to purchase it for $6.6m but still needed to come up with the final… $6m.
Children walking on our sidewalks? Oh horrors. This cannot be allowed. It will destroy the entire city as we know it. Where is Aaron Peskin when we need him?