Post by title1parent on Apr 23, 2008 5:52:48 GMT -5
D204 will sell 25 acres near Brach-Brodie site
Trusts have option to buy back land
April 23, 2008
By Paige Winfield pwinfield@scn1.com
A "for sale" sign may soon stand on a 25-acre tract that formerly was District 204's choice on which to build Metea Valley High School.
If the Brach and Brodie trusts - the original owners of the land near 75th Street and Fort Hill Drive - don't want to buy back the property, the land will be put up for sale, school board members decided Monday night. The school district is asking a judge to set a deadline by which owners of the Brach-Brodie site must accept or decline to buy back the 25 acres, school district attorney Rick Petisch said.
"We're hoping the court will set a reasonable deadline," Petisch said.
The district purchased the land three years ago from the Brach-Brodie trust, intending to eventually purchase another 55 acres and build Metea Valley High School on the site. But after a judge in a condemnation suit set the price for the additional 55 acres at $31 million - more than double the amount the district thought the land was worth - the district instead purchased 84 acres off Eola Road, south of Interstate 88.
By law, the district must first offer to sell the Brach-Brodie land back to its former owners. Representatives of the Brach trust have said they are not interested in the land, while the Brodie trust is said to be considering the offer.
If the Brodie trust's answer is no, the district will seek another buyer for the 25 acres, Petisch said.
Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said the board has not yet discussed an asking price for the property. He hopes for an answer from the Brodie trust as soon as possible.
"The sooner the better," Daeschner said. "You always like to have some control of your own destiny."
District officials hope to open Metea Valley High School on the Eola property in August 2009.
After the school district opted to not buy the Brach-Brodie land, the Brodie trust filed a court complaint seeking to either force the district to buy the remaining 55 acres for the $31 million set by the court in the condemnation suit, or pay unspecified damages to the trust.
Trusts have option to buy back land
April 23, 2008
By Paige Winfield pwinfield@scn1.com
A "for sale" sign may soon stand on a 25-acre tract that formerly was District 204's choice on which to build Metea Valley High School.
If the Brach and Brodie trusts - the original owners of the land near 75th Street and Fort Hill Drive - don't want to buy back the property, the land will be put up for sale, school board members decided Monday night. The school district is asking a judge to set a deadline by which owners of the Brach-Brodie site must accept or decline to buy back the 25 acres, school district attorney Rick Petisch said.
"We're hoping the court will set a reasonable deadline," Petisch said.
The district purchased the land three years ago from the Brach-Brodie trust, intending to eventually purchase another 55 acres and build Metea Valley High School on the site. But after a judge in a condemnation suit set the price for the additional 55 acres at $31 million - more than double the amount the district thought the land was worth - the district instead purchased 84 acres off Eola Road, south of Interstate 88.
By law, the district must first offer to sell the Brach-Brodie land back to its former owners. Representatives of the Brach trust have said they are not interested in the land, while the Brodie trust is said to be considering the offer.
If the Brodie trust's answer is no, the district will seek another buyer for the 25 acres, Petisch said.
Superintendent Stephen Daeschner said the board has not yet discussed an asking price for the property. He hopes for an answer from the Brodie trust as soon as possible.
"The sooner the better," Daeschner said. "You always like to have some control of your own destiny."
District officials hope to open Metea Valley High School on the Eola property in August 2009.
After the school district opted to not buy the Brach-Brodie land, the Brodie trust filed a court complaint seeking to either force the district to buy the remaining 55 acres for the $31 million set by the court in the condemnation suit, or pay unspecified damages to the trust.