District 26 accepting offers for Cary school property

The Cary Elementary District 26 school board Monday authorized the sale by sealed bid of the Maplewood School property in Cary for a minimum of $2.5 million.

It is the fourth attempt to dispose of the vacant school.

The school board last July approved its sale to Central One, LLC, of Barrington for $2.5 million. Under that purchase agreement, Central One had a feasibility and government approval period to inspect the property and conduct tests and determine the acceptability of the property.

Central One - a construction consultant and service company affiliated with Dartmoor Homes - was to build a commercial, multifamily and/or residential development on the 15.6-acre property at 422 W. Krenz Ave. Central One's bid was the only one of two meeting the district's terms, but the sale fell through.

"The developer terminated the purchase agreement with the district due to some outside factors and the timeline in the agreement reaching its end," Superintendent Brian Coleman said. "The board is again putting the property up for sale through the bidding process. We hope to get a number of developers interested in this property to bid."

Maplewood School closed in 2010 due to declining enrollment and the high cost of maintaining the facility. The property includes a 42,000-square-foot school building and adjacent transportation maintenance garage and bus parking lot.

Beginning Thursday, interested bidders can pick up an information packet from the district office, 2115 Crystal Lake Road, Cary, or find it at cary26.org.

The property will be sold by sealed bid to be opened at 10 a.m. July 24 at the district office.

The school board will award the bid at its July 30 meeting beginning at 7 p.m.