By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Last February, Seattle voters passed a school levy which provides to funds to remodel several public schools throughout the city, including Roosevelt High School, located at 1410 NE 66th St.

The Roosevelt project's total budget is about $75 million, including $5 million for the School District's possible purchase of nearby property. Renovations to Roosevelt's existing building, originally constructed in 1922, will include seismic upgrades, new electrical and plumbing systems, a new or remodeled gym and reoriented classrooms. It could also include other amenities such as an athletic field and the addition of between 12 and 200 parking spaces, depending on which site design is finally selected.

Not surprisingly, the project has drawn interest from the school's neighbors as well as citizens' groups such as Friends of the Roosevelt High School Historic Preservation, an organization whose members include Roosevelt parents, students, alumni and school staff.

Members of the preservation group are already weighing-in on the school's existing architectural details they don't want to see eliminated. Among them are the building's original facade, murals in the main lobby and the pipe organ in the auditorium.

"I hate to see old, beautiful buildings torn down just because they're old," said Andrea Wilson, co-coordinator of the preservation group as well as the parent of a student currently attending Roosevelt.

The architectural firm that the School District has hired to design the renovation of Roosevelt High is no stranger to historic preservation work. In the late '80s, Bassetti designed the renovation of historic Franklin High School.

Wilson said her group is pleased with the selection of Bassetti for the Roosevelt project, but said she won't rest easy until the building is officially recognized as an historic landmark by City's Landmarks Preservation Board. The School District is expected to apply for landmark status for the building in February, she said.

"I see this project as being very much like puzzle - fitting all these complex pieces together," Wilson said.

Puzzle may be an apt description for this undertaking. Not only are many citizens concerned about whether the historic character of the building itself will be preserved, the project is also drawing a lot of attention from neighbors who want to know exactly what land would be purchased if the site is expanded.

Kathy Johnson, the School District's project manager for the Roosevelt High renovation, said if the district buys additional property it would likely be a single half- block in size, most likely immediately south of the existing school building. She declined to offer more specifics. The three blocks located immediately south of the school currently contain several homes and small businesses.

"We don't know what they're going to take and what they're going to effect," said Lani Johnson, who along with her husband owns an architectural and planning firm in that three-block area. "Right now, there is not a preferred alternative," said Kathy Johnson.

That may be, but a look at the School District's Web site shows several draft site studies that indicate the half-block closest to the school between Brooklyn Avenue NE and 12th Avenue NE as a possible area for acquisition.

The draft environmental impact statement for the Roosevelt High renovation is expected to be released this spring. Construction is scheduled to start in 2004.

A community workshop regarding the Roosevelt High redevelopment project is planned for Tuesday, Jan. 29 , 7-8:30 p.m. in the school cafeteria. For more information, contact Kathy Johnson at 252-0653.