The Perfect Place For Middle Schoolers To Learn From Their Peers’ Bad Life Choices

If no one wants to build condos there we can at least scare straight surly middle schoolers:

Developers responded so weakly to a city invitation for ideas for retail and residential use at the soon-to-reopen Brooklyn House of Detention that the city is now considering putting a middle school in the space.

For months, the city has said it plans to reopen — and double the capacity of — the 11-story, 750-inmate Big House on Atlantic Avenue between Smith Street and Boerum Place.

But last year, when the city solicited bids for ground-floor shops in the infamous holding pen, retailers showed only lukewarm interest.

Besides the weak response from retailers, only one developer submitted a bid to build a residential tower adjacent to the soon-to-reopen jail.

As a result, Corrections Commissioner Martin Horn told a group of local pols and community activists at a Jan. 2 meeting that he is considering housing a new middle school in the jail.

Location Scout: Brooklyn House of Detention.