Some Hyde Park neighbors object to Austin school district plans to sell Baker Center

With the debate on what to do with underenrolled schools still weeks away, Austin school district officials are finding that changing facility use, even at buildings that don't house students, won't be easy.

Concerned about cuts in state funding, the district is looking to sell the Baker Center and its West Sixth Street headquarters, putting both buildings up for bid in May.

Two proposals came in for Baker. However, neither mentioned what the prospective buyers would do with the white art deco former school house.

Still, some residents of the Hyde Park neighborhood in northern Central Austin want the cash-strapped district to keep Baker Center for continued use as administrative offices space or, if not that, to lease it.

Karen McGraw , chairwoman of the neighborhood's contact team, said that though the area currently might not have the students to fill Baker, ideally she and other residents would like to see the building used once again as a school.

Built in 1911 and expanded in 1952 , Baker is at 3908 Avenue B in a portion of the neighborhood that was recently established as a local historic district. Just north of the University of Texas, Hyde Park is known for its walkable, tree-lined streets and eclectic mix of mansions alongside bungalows.

Since Baker stopped operating as a neighborhood school in the early 1980s, students in the area have gone to Lee Elementary School, and Baker has mainly been used as offices, as a training site and as a set for the now-canceled television series "Friday Night Lights."

And though it is no longer the school that developer Monroe Shipe envisioned when designing what was Austin's first suburb back in 1891 , Hyde Park residents say Baker does still get used as a voting location and as a place where children play.

"It's our biggest civic space in Hyde Park," McGraw said, adding that the district could use the space for a specialty program or lease it. "How much is it going to cost to move these people? And once you get the one-time money, what are you going to use it for that would be better than leasing it and having that income for the future? What have you really achieved for the public with the public's dollar?"

One bid for Baker Center for about $7.8 million was from Hyde Park Historic Properties LLC.

The other offer of about $8.1 million from Bula Lewis Farms LP came with the condition that the owners would not have to lease it back to the district.

It is too early to say what Bula Lewis Farms investors' plans for the building would be, said Mac Pike, whose company, the Sutton Co., would be a development adviser for Bula. But, Pike said, "obviously the neighborhood would have a lot of input."

Larry Wood, the registered agent for Bula Lewis Farms, could not be reached for comment.

Thad Avery, the registered agent for the Austin-based Hyde Park Historic Properties, said the idea of turning Baker back into a school "is a wonderful idea to have, but not economical."

"My interest in the property is simply to turn it into a contributing, vibrant part of the neighborhood," Avery said, adding that he has several projects in the area, including Vino Vino, a restaurant, the Hyde Park Gym and Milkshake Media, a business on Guadalupe Street.

Avery said he won several restoration awards and has no intention of doing anything that would "diminish the historic quality of the building."

Meanwhile, several neighbors are putting out the call to "save the school." Baker has its own Facebook page, where people are asked to post memories of the campus.

"The neighborhood was envisioned over 100 years ago to be a whole community, with buildings that have residential, commercial and — just as important — civic and recreational uses," said Ashley Schweickart , a resident who lives near the school. "If it's sold, it ceases to maintain its place in the neighborhood as an historic public space."

The district also had two bids on its West Sixth Street headquarters; both were below the $32 million administrators hoped for.

The Carruth Administrative Center garnered one $16 million bid.

The other proposed a property swap that involved a 50-year ground lease for 200,000 square feet of office space at Highland Mall and a $4.6 million rent waiver.

District officials have said the idea of selling some of its administrative space came up in 2000 in a Texas comptroller's office performance review and resurfaced as a citizen-led task force developed recommendations for a long-term facilities master plan.

Later this month, administrators are expected to present a response to those recommendations.

The school board, which could vote on a facilities use plan this school year, will need to respond to the bids by December.

lheinauer@statesman.com; 445-3694