PEEKSKILL, N.Y. The Peekskill City School District said it will not be selling the vacant Uriah Hill Elementary School anytime soon.
Members of the districts school board unanimously agreed at their meeting Tuesday to take the advice of Superintendent of Schools James Willis and place a five-year moratorium on selling the vacant building, which is located at 980 Pemart Ave.
We maintain it so the building doesnt fall apart and we maintain the energy systems so they dont deteriorate, Willis said. So the question has become, what do we do with the building?
The building and the property it sits on is worth $4.2 million, according to the district. However, board members agreed the value to the district and the community outweighed that amount, especially since the district was seeing a student population growth that could necessitate additional space.
Weve had it for a long time and its a beautiful piece of property," Trustee Doug Glickert said. Its got great fields for sports and class activities, and with the population boom that were having its good to have that if we need that space for classrooms.
The district will instead look to market the building through a leasing agent, and Gregory Sullivan, assistant superintendent for business and administrative services, estimated that on the rental market it is worth $9.50 per square foot.
Sullivan said the building was already in or near compliance with safety codes for educational uses and most other uses. The district spends approximately $65,000 a year to maintain the building.
District officials discussed various uses for the school, which was closed in 2009, with the Peekskill Common Council last month at a joint meeting. The city is currently putting together a list of possible uses for the property.
Among uses for the property mentioned by trustees Tuesday night included a tutoring center, a charter school, a district alternative education location and a facility for the Peekskill Titans youth football team.
The district will begin work on a request for proposal for rentals in order to get tenants in the building as soon as possible.
We have to make sure we give everybody in the community an opportunity to know that were interested in leasing the property, Trustee Marcela Bobe said.
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