Walnut Hill Neighborhood

Saving St. Thomas - Continued

Jun 27, 2000

Saving St. Thomas - Report by Peter Kokh
Meetings continue of a committee looking into ways to preserve the St. Thomas Aquinas Church Complex being used by L.A.N.D. - Lisbon Avenue Neighborhood Development CDG and its Community Center in the face of the legitimate expansion needs of Westside Academy II. Committee members include representatives from MPS, from Westside Academy II, from LAND, and from the Walnut Hill and Washington Park Neighborhoods.
At the June 22nd meeting, things started to take a promising turn. We are now past the confrontational "posturing" stage, and into forming a coalition between the School and LAND to serve the overall needs of the community. Instead of looking at ways to carve up the block between 35th and 36th and Lisbon to Brown, the emphasis is on serving all the community needs. Out of that atmosphere of cooperation, architectural and structural decisions will come (due December 1st, 2000) and we are beginning to feel some confidence, that whatever the outcome for St. Thomas Church as a physical structure, the best decision for LAND and the LAND Community Center will have been made, as well as the best decision for Westside Academy II.
In the light of the current plan to end bussing of students out of the area, Westside Academy II needs to provide classroom space - and playground space - for another 250 middle school students, bringing its enrollment to 700 vs. the 150 in the days when the building was the St. Thomas Aquinas parish school.