The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

August 11, 2009

UPDATE: Building will be a hard sell, real estate agents tell Sharpsville school board

By Joe Pinchot

SHARPSVILLE — Real estate agents said they could not predict what the market would be for the Seventh Street Elementary School until they started their work.

School board member Gerard Hanley asked ERA Johnson Real Estate agents Joe Joseph and John Fair if the school will be a �hard sell.�

�Yes, it will be a hard sell,� Joseph said at Monday�s school board meeting.

He and Fair noted the specific use the building was constructed for, the limited zoning opportunities of a general residential zone, and the renovation costs of converting it to another use.

�You can�t put it out tomorrow and expect it to sell,� Joseph said.

Having said that, the agents noted you can never tell what kind of buyers are out there, and the more patient a seller is, the better deal he or she is likely to get

�You really don�t know until you start feeling the market,� Fair said.

Joseph, who has not been hired to list the building, told the board he has already been asked about the building.

�In this particular building, right now, we have somebody interested,� he said. �I really do have somebody who contacted me.�

Fair said the building could be converted to medical offices. John Baglier, real estate agent with Howard Hanna, said it could work as a nursing home, depending on the renovation costs. He said he could not suggest an asking price without bringing in developers to talk about conversion.

�It�s such a nice neighborhood and a nice building,� he said.

While Baglier said he would market the building regionally � Howard Hanna has offices in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and West Virginia � Fair and Joseph said they would list the building nationally, and through Penn Northwest Development Corp., Mercer County�s lead economic development agency.

The board has floated the idea of selling the building � where it holds its meetings � to cut costs, said Superintendent Mark Ferrara.

The district no longer houses its own students in the building. Midwestern Intermediate Unit IV, Grove City, a private preschool center and Head Start occupy parts of the building. If the district sold the building, it would have to find a new home for Head Start, he said.

Board President David DeForest said it would be nice to get the building back on the tax rolls for the benefit of the borough, but the board still is not decided what to do with it.

�We have not arrived at a definite yes or no,� he said. �One of the things about Sharpsville is we talk things to death.�

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