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Meeting set for Oct. 23 to discuss old middle school building
The City of Hastings and Hastings Community Redevelopment Authority are taking action to give new life to the old Hastings Middle School and the entities want to educate the public about that process.
The City and CRA are working with the South Central Economic Development District to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfield Program for a cleanup grant to remediate the asbestos and other contamination that is likely in the old Hastings Middle School building at 714 W. Fifth Street.
A public engagement meeting will take place 5:30-7 p.m., Wednesday Oct. 23 at the Hastings Public Library, 314 N. Denver Ave. The meeting will provide information on the grant, the City’s proposed application and seek ideas for the reuse of the building once the contaminants are addressed. Community partners will be available to assist with translation services at the public engagement meeting.
Following introductions, there will be a very short presentation to describe the grant, its requirements, and the known asbestos issues in the building. Following that, meeting participants will do a brainstorming activity to think of ways to reuse the site.
“The long-term plan for the Hastings CRA is to work with a developer to reuse the building to meet the community’s needs,” said Chad Bunger, Development Services Director for the City of Hastings. “This grant is just one of several steps to reuse the site and building. We want to let the community know about the grant’s opportunities and the community’s intended application. We also want to hear what the ideas for the building’s future from the community.”
If funded, the grant will allow the CRA to address asbestos in the building, which prepares the building to be renovated and reused. The presence of asbestos makes it hard to renovate the interior and be used for something else.
This year’s grant will pay for 100% of the work.
The grant application is due on Nov. 14, 2024. Members of the Hastings City Council are scheduled to hold a public hearing at their Oct. 28, 2024 meeting, which starts at 5:30 p.m. to consider the draft grant application.
It is anticipated that the award would be announced in the spring 2025, with work to begin in summer or fall 2025.
Read more about efforts to clean up the old middle school on the EngageHastings page here.
Published Date: 10/15/2024