UPDATE: OKEMOS - Since the closure of Wardcliff Elementary two years ago, neighborhood residents and the Okemos School District have been working towards filling the unused space, but so far, attempts haven't materialized.

For Esther Onaga, a Wardcliff resident, and her kids, Wardcliff Elementary was more than just a school.

It held the community together.

"(Warcliff) was the most amazing experience for them," Onaga said.

Both of Onaga's children Amy and Scott, who are now 31 and 26 years old respectively, attended the elementary school. Onaga said she remembers feeling devastated when she learned about the school's planned closure. She worried about what would happen to the neighborhood.

"The closing of the school was heartbreaking for many of us," she said. "It was the mechanism that brought us together."

In the wake of the closure, the district formed a committee, headed by District Superintendent Catherine Ash, to oversee the process of trying to find tenants or other uses for the vacant school building.

"Originally we had hoped there would be other uses for it, in order for both the school district and the Wardcliff community to benefit from it," Ash said. "Our number one hope was for it to be some kind of activity center...but there just has not been interest there at this time."

For now though, once spring arrives, the school will host a community garden that will begin its third year. And, with the recent formation of the Wardcliff Neighborhood Association, determining what to do with Wardcliff Elementary will remain a priority for residents.


ORIGINAL STORY: OKEMOS - Since the closure of Wardcliff Elementary two years ago, neighborhood residents and the Okemos School District have been working towards filling the unused space, but so far, attempts haven't materialized.