TUSD's Townsend could get new life as trade school

The Tucson Unified School District’s Governing Board will consider the offer on Tuesday. If approved, it would be the largest deal for a closed TUSD school to date.

The medical-careers trade school wants to build a campus on the site to serve its 925 students and to house its executive offices.

TUSD documents indicate that the “most likely buyer” of the property may seek city approval to put apartments or commercial buildings on parts of the property not needed for the vocational campus.

Townsend’s proximity to Tucson Medical Center has made it highly sought after. The district received seven offers, including one to build 91 single-family homes.

The size of those offers is unknown, as TUSD did not release the Townsend proposals as it has for other sites in the past.

Neighbors who attended an informational meeting last month had concerns about traffic, building height and the fact that the local Fort Lowell Soccer Club uses fields on the site, 2120 N. Beverly Ave.

TUSD and Pima Medical Institute officials agreed to defer the final closing by up to 12 months to work out an agreement for the soccer club.

As with the sale of any TUSD school, the district was required to obtain approval from a federal court overseeing its desegregation case. The court gave the district a green light after an analysis showed that the sale would have little to no impact on desegregation efforts.

The district also said it was unlikely that the school would be needed to serve students in the near future, providing enrollment projections for 10 surrounding TUSD schools that are expected to have hundreds of empty seats.

Around this time last year, TUSD was considering moving the A-rated Dodge Middle School onto the Townsend campus to serve an additional 260 students. The district hoped the move would put a dent in the school’s waiting list and retain students who have opted to attend charter schools like Basis.

However, the proposal died when improvements needed at Townsend to support the program became cost-prohibitive.

It isn’t known whether Pima Medical Institute will use the existing structure or demolish it.