Now that the Nordic Heritage Museum has moved out of its old facility at 3014 NW 67th St., the city is working on plans to reopen Webster Elementary School at the same location.
Webster School was built in 1908 — with a new addition in 1930 — and it closed in 1979. The Nordic Heritage Museum opened in the space a year later.
With Seattle’s population growing like crazy, the school district is looking for more capacity. Now the museum has moved to Market St., the plan is to reopen Webster School with room for 450 students in time for the 2020-21 school year.
There’s a lot of work to do in the meantime. The school district plans to build a new gymnasium and covered play area on the west side of the property. It needs to seismically-retrofit the 1908 building, as well as make upgrades throughout. And then there’s the complicating factor that several parts of the school were designated a Seattle landmark, and key features of the facility must be preserved.
To make these additions and improvements, the district is requesting some modifications to zoning regulations for height, parking and noise, to name a few. To ensure neighbors are plugged into the process, the city is inviting residents to attend a community meeting about the project on Monday, March 19 at 6 p.m. at Ballard High School, 1418 NW 65th St.