Whittier Elementary School in Royal Oak, Mich., is scheduled to be razed in July, along with two other 1920s schools. (Trish Oliver)

Three Michigan schools are scheduled to be demolished in July, but a grassroots group is still trying to find a developer to renovate the 1920s buildings.

Yesterday was the deadline for bids on Starr Elementary and Longfellow Elementary, located in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, Mich. At an open house at Longfellow last night, locals got one last look at the school before it closes.

"We had nine bids for Starr, and six bids for Longfellow," says Andy Linell, executive director of business services and technology for the Royal Oak School District, which owns all three buildings. The bids ranged from $600,000 to $1.8 million.

Only one bidder proposed to reuse, rather than demolish, the schools.

"These are extraordinary buildings," says Joe Novitsky, principal at JSN Architecture, based in Bingham Farms, Mich. Novitsky submitted bids for both schools, which he wants to convert to senior assisted-living units and later turn over to the Royal Oak School District. "The beauty is that we're offering them back to the school board—giving them first right of refusal—after 15 or 20 years so that the children can have a walkable neighborhood once again. Everybody wins."

Now the Royal Oak School District, which demolished a 1920s school in 2003 and a 1921 school in 2004, will evaluate the bidders and decide the fate of the two buildings, designed by Frederick Madison. The district will make its decision next month or in July, according to Linell.

"[Novitsky's] bids seemed very strong to me, particularly the one for Longfellow, because they are for only a portion of the property, which would allow the school district to get double for that site," says Trish Oliver, a member of the group trying to save the schools.

Oliver's group envisions loft-style apartments, condos, or senior housing in Starr, Longfellow, and Whittier Elementary schools, which are within walking distance of the "old-fashioned yet hip downtown," she says.

Although the deadline for bids was yesterday, Oliver's group will continue to search for a preservation-friendly buyer for Longfellow and Starr Elementary until they are demolished. The group has collected 180 signatures on a petition calling for the reuse of the schools.

The school district has not set a deadline for bids on Whittier Elementary School.

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