San Antonio neighbors around Mahncke Park are debating the future of the closed Lamar Elementary campus, and voices like Francille Radmann, John Gambuzza and Joyce Felter spoke with reporter Sarah Acosta about reopening, reuse or redevelopment. The San Antonio Independent School District closed Lamar in May 2024 for low enrollment and says the property is under review for partnerships, repurposing and public feedback. Community ideas range from arts and early childhood services to green space, while fears about private condos and lost neighborhood character also run strong.
People who’ve lived near Lamar for decades are watching SAISD’s next steps closely because the campus sits at the heart of everyday neighborhood life. The district has said there’s no final decision and that more public meetings are planned so neighbors can keep weighing in. That promise of more engagement matters to residents who want their priorities reflected instead of sidelined.
Survey responses collected by the district highlighted clear themes from the neighborhood: fine arts programming, early childhood services for infants and toddlers, and preserved green space. Those ideas point to very different outcomes, with some residents imagining classrooms, rehearsal rooms and playgrounds while others picture a park or community center. The split shows how much Lamar’s fate touches on education, services and local character all at once.
Longtime neighbor Francille Radmann, who has lived a few houses down from the campus for more than 40 years, said she prefers a public-serving option and worries about luxury housing. “Of course I’d like it to be a school, but since San Antonio School District can’t afford the school, at least according to the information we’re given,” Radmann said, “it could be, I think, a residential situation for young adults with disabilities who need more of a dormitory or campus life, and that would allow them to be out of their parents’ homes.”
Radmann made clear she does not want condos on the site and emphasized a need for services that benefit local families. “I don’t want to see it become someone’s condo project,” Radmann said. “I would really rather see it have a public use and not a money-making use.“ Her position captures a common anxiety: that market-driven redevelopment could erase community needs.
John Gambuzza, who has lived across from Lamar since 1978, also wants the campus to return to being an elementary school and suspects developers are already lining up ideas. “I think they’ve already decided what they’re going to do, but one of the options was like a childcare center, but they already had that when they had an elementary school,” Gambuzza said. “So that didn’t make any sense. Green space, I had no idea what that means. And the other option, fine arts, we’ll see. I’m pretty sure it’s going to be condos with a really nice pool in the middle of them, but who knows.”
For many neighbors the memory of a working school still defines the block, which is why uncertainty stings. Gambuzza’s skepticism about the district’s process reflects a broader worry that community input won’t translate into concrete protections. That distrust will only harden if the next meetings feel like checkboxes instead of real conversations.
Joyce Felter, a Mahncke Park resident since 1975, said she is furious about the closure and is adamant Lamar should reopen as an elementary school. “I would like to see it reopened as an elementary school,” Felter said. “So if I say anything else, it’s not true. Things that I would accept without squawking about them, we’re really helpless so this district does not want to work with us at all.“ Her frustration highlights old wounds around community trust and school funding choices.
Felter also acknowledged childcare, arts programming and green space have practical appeal but questioned how those options would be implemented. “The arts thing would be just wonderful, but I don’t know how the economics work out,” Felter said. “And green space, I may start calling them and asking what on earth is a green space? Are they going to knock down our building? I mean, I don’t know if they can get permission to do that. It would be a hard pull with the conservation society.“ That uncertainty about logistics and preservation fuels both hope and resistance.
The neighborhood reaction is split between preserving educational services and resisting profit-driven redevelopment, and those tensions will shape every public meeting SAISD holds from here. With the district promising more community engagement, neighbors plan to show up and press for options that serve public needs rather than private gain. How Lamar’s story ends will depend on whether the district can earn trust and translate feedback into a plan that keeps Mahncke Park’s character intact.
