Gateway Middle School listed for sale without asking price
A brokerage firm that Gateway School District hired last year to market the middle school has listed the property for sale on a website that touts having "more advertised properties than any other online marketplace."
The listing – found on LoopNet.com – does not disclose an asking price.
A description on the listing says the school will occupy the 115,000-square-foot building through June 2020 and calls the property a "prime investment opportunity" with access to major thoroughfares like the Turnpike, Route 22 and the Parkway East.
"Residential, office and warehouse/distribution space are all potential end uses. With the current amount of office development as well as retail density in this submarket, there is no development-ready acreage similar to this in the area," the description said.
The school board voted 7-2 to have the 360 Group of Pittsburgh list the property at 4450 Old William Penn Highway in March.
At the time, Bruce Dice, the board's solicitor, said developers should be required to include a plan to rezone the property before a sale is made.
But Hunter Morris, 360 Group's CEO, said developers are not required to include a plan prior to a sale.
"But they would definitely be required to prior to the development process. I would assume they will prior to the sale to ensure their end use is approved," Morris said.
The school board tried and failed late last year to get the property rezoned commercial to make it more valuable. The 26-acre property is currently zoned residential and has an assessed market value of $13.4 million, according to county real estate records.
Council members said they want to know what would replace the school before they rezone it.
The school board has not decided on any plan for housing the 500 seventh- and eighth-graders at the school if it is closed.
Find the full listing at bit.ly/2HrXiSq .
Dillon Carr is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-871-2325, dcarr@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dillonswriting.
