Carmel school board to discuss future of damaged Orchard Park building

By GREGG MONTGOMERY
WISH-TV | wishtv.com

Carmel Clay Schools officials on Wednesday night will discuss what to do with a former elementary school deemed unsafe after it was found flooded nearly two weeks ago.

On Oct. 14, the school district’s maintenance staff found about four feet of standing water in the Orchard Park Elementary School’s boiler room. The district said in a Friday news release that an investigation found that a water main ruptured beneath the building, flooding it, damaging its infrastructure and compromising its central mechanical plant.

After assessing the damage, the city government determined that concerns about structural stability made the property unsafe. District leaders and engineers from Fanning Howey were assessing the structural damage and identifying possible solutions, and information will be presented at a meeting of the school board at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Educational Services Center, 5201 E. Main St.

The building, playground and surrounding grounds have been cordoned off and closed to the public.

The school southwest of 106th Street and Westfield Boulevard was closed in summer 2021 as part of a redistricting plan initiated when Clay Center Elementary School opened.

Since then, Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation expressed hopes of making the site into a park but was thwarted when a charter school group sued, trying to buy the property under Indiana’s “$1 law.” A judge ruled that, since the district still used the building for storage and training, it did not meet the law’s requirement of being vacant or unused.

Carmel Clay Schools in late 2024 announced plans to use the property for a centralized early learning center.

This story was originally published by WISH-TV at wishtv.com/news/education/carmel-school-board-to-discuss-future-of-damaged-orchard-park-building.