Casey Hallgarth, superintendent of the Baker School District, plans to meet with Baker City Manager Barry Murphy to talk about how the district could potentially use the lot where the Central Building stood.

The Baker School Board discussed the 1.5-acre lot during a one-hour work session Wednesday afternoon, March 12.

A fire started by three juveniles on May 22, 2024, gutted the 108-year-old building.

Two juveniles have been sentenced to an unspecified term in a state youth prison for starting the fire. Charges are still pending against the third.

The school district hired a contractor to demolish the three-story structure in July.

The property is bordered on the north by Washington Avenue, on the south by Court Avenue, and is between Fifth Street to the east and Sixth Street to the west.

School board members made no decisions about the property.

They agreed that an initial step is to meet with city officials to understand whether certain options, such as constructing a multipurpose gym or other building, would be allowed under city zoning rules.

Board member Jessica Dougherty said that given the parcel’s size — an entire city block — the district could potentially use the space for multiple purposes rather than only one.

Board Chairman Travis Cook agreed.

Cook said a possible short-term option is to make the property usable by the public — by planting grass, for instance — and then later considering other possibilities, including buildings.

Hallgarth and board members also emphasized that the potential cost will be a key factor in the board’s deliberations about how to use the property.

In the online survey the school district conducted in late 2024, the most popular option, amoing the 301 responses, was “neighborhood green space/park,” which was the top priority for 123 respondents (41%).

Hallgarth said during the board’s work session that having more public gymnasium space is a topic he has heard about frequently.

Toward the end of the meeting, Hallgarth told board members that he has had discussions with Steve Bogart, who manages the gymnasium on Church Street, next to St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, about the possibility of the school district leasing the gym from its owner, the Catholic church.

The Baker Family YMCA leases the gym now, but the Y is building a new gym next to its fitness center on Pocahontas Road.

Board member Julie Huntington pointed out that the district also owns another large property, the grassy area, formerly a football field, just west of Baker Middle School and directly north of Washington Avenue from the Central Building site.

Huntington said the district might be able to derive a plan that involves both properties.

Board member Andrew Bryan said that if the district persuaded the city council to vacate a section of Washington Avenue, the two parcels could be contiguous.

“We’ve got all this space to work with,” Bryan said.

The board plans to appoint a subcommittee, including Bryan and Dougherty, to continue looking at possible uses of the property.

In other business during the work session, Dougherty asked Hallgarth about how the district is using a house it bought in 2022 at 1503 Second St. for $490,000. The district bought two houses that year, paying $295,000 for another historic home at 1706 Washington Ave.

Both were intended to be used to house students in the district’s Oregon International School, a concept that the district discarded a few years ago.

The district sold the Washington Avenue house for $330,000 in 2023.

Hallgarth said two district teachers are living in the Second Street house.

He recommended the district sell the house, an idea that Bryan and Dougherty both agreed with.

Central Building property survey results

The other possible uses listed on the survey, in addition to green space/park, are district parking lot and new district office building.

Respondents could also add their own suggested uses.

Overall results:

Neighborhood green space/park

• 123 (41%) top priority

• 88 (29%) 2nd priority

• 66 (22%) 3rd priority

• 24 (8%) 4th priority

New district building, possibly to house special education department now in leased space

• 73 (24%) top priority

• 84 (28%) 2nd priority

• 94 (31%) 3rd priority

• 50 (17%) 4th priority

District parking lot

• 22 (7%) top priority

• 85 (28%) 2nd priority

• 87 (29%) 3rd priority

• 107 (36%) 4th priority

Other use

• 83 (28%) top priority

• 44 (15%) 2nd priority

• 54 (18%) 3rd priority

• 120 (40%) 4th priority

An analysis from the section of the survey where respondents could add their own ideas shows, among other things, advocacy for an outdoor learning center, environmental learning spaces, school gardens and green spaces.

Many respondents mentioned the need for affordable housing.

There was considerable interest in building sports and recreational facilities, including gyms, tennis and pickleball courts, ice-skating and roller-skating rinks.

Many respondents were opposed to making the entire property a parking lot, but there was interest in using part for parking and the rest as a green space or other purpose.

There was much interest in having a memorial park or monument commemorating the Central Building, which served as Baker High School from 1917-52 and then as part of the Baker Middle School campus until 2009, when the school district closed the building.

Other ideas include:

• Multi-purpose gymnasium for school and community events.

• Performing arts center.

• Sell the property.

• Business hubs, food truck parks.