This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
http://www.ustream.tv/embed/9604674?v=3&wmode=direct
The School Reform Commission is meeting now. You can watch the meeting by clicking on the LiveStream above.
A District spokesman said that the SRC may recommend the sale of three vacant school buildings.
Update: The SRC unanimously approved the sales of three vacant school facilities at its Thursday meeting.
These would be the first sales from the 12 properties (see map) that the District put on the market earlier this year. These three were not hot properties: The combined value of the sales is $720,000, with the District owing a 6 percent commission.
The properties and their proposed buyers and prices are:
- John Paul Jones Middle School Annex on Amber Street in Kensington is being sold to Elm City Capital and Richmond Mills LP for $250,000. The asking price was $350,000.
- The Simon Muhr Elementary School building on Germantown Avenue in North Philadelphia is being sold to Philadelphia Suburban Development Corp. for $150,000. The list price was $360,000.
- Rudolph S. Walton Elementary School on North 28th Street, which closed in 2003, is being sold to KIPP Philadelphia Charter School and MIS Capital LLC for $320,000. It was listed for $450,000.
None of the big-ticket properties up for sale have made it through the process yet. Five of the properties still on the market have price tags exceeding $1 million.
The three SRC resolutions have a provision imposing a penalty on the buyer if there is a delay in redeveloping the property as well as an "anti-speculation" clause under which the District could obtain some or all of the profits from any resale of the property in the next four years.
District officials said that for each sale, a committee was created to vet the offers on the property, with representation from District staff, the City Planning Commission, and neighborhood organizations.
Update 2: The SRC also voted on the suspension of two provisions of the state school code dealing with enrollment caps and school closings.