Hubbard Farms homeowners aim to preserve homes in face of school expansion plans

Hubbard Farms homeowners are rallying against what they are calling a threat to their neighborhood: Detroit Public Schools. DPS emergency manager Robert Bobb has announced plans to attain land between Clark Court and Porter to create a K-14 Mega School Campus that would make contiguous the sites of Earhart School and Western International High School. The plan would necessitate the acquisition and demolition of approximately 20 homes in the historic district.

Steven Wasko, a spokesperson for the school district says, "In order to plan a larger campus with programs for students in grades PK-14 as we envision on many of our other sites, we contacted the owners of a small number of properties that sit between the current Western International HS and Earhart campuses to see if they were interested in selling. Nothing else has occurred."

Mark Dancey, a homeowner who would be directly affected by the plan, says the suburban-style campus would cut a swath of the community off from direct access to Clark Park, and that preservation and residency should be valued by the city. "Why is this plan for my property more legitimate than my plan for the property?" he asks. "My plan is to be a steward, to restore and maintain it. Why is this less legitimate and that more valuable to the city?"

Residents both directly and indirectly affected by the plan will meet tonight, May 18, at the Whitdel Apartments to discuss action steps. "Our story needs to be the first story," says Dancey. "People who actually live in city are going to be kicked out and their homes destroyed from a massive power passing through."

Many residents have already begun a letter-writing campaign, requesting that no homes are demolished and that any school expansion is contained on existing footprints. "This house is 100 years old and it's built to last. It will be here long after I am," says Dancey.

Source: Steven Wasko, DPS, and Mark Dancey, Hubbard Farms resident
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh