Denison's City Council got its first public look Monday night at what could become of the empty city-owned land in the 700 block of Main Street, the former high school site downtown. Nobody voted, and nothing has been decided.
Mayor Robert Crawley described the meeting as a work session meant to gather information. "No action was taken, but it was an opportunity to gather information, and that's what we did tonight," he told KXII.
The property
The block has sat empty since the old school building was torn down more than 10 years ago, according to KXII. It is best known today as the home of the Saturday farmers market.
KTEN reported the site covers a little more than 3 acres at Main Street and Barrett Avenue and was recently used as a staging area for the Designing Downtown Denison construction work.
Two directions
Tony Kaai, president of the Denison Development Alliance, said developers the city has talked with have floated shops on the ground floor with lofts upstairs, much like the buildings already lining Main Street. "There are developers that are interested in working with the city to put something really significant in the 700 block. We just need the direction," Kaai told KTEN.
He added that, in the ideas developers have sketched, the green space would remain public.
