Gahanna school board agrees to buy former Kroger site for $5.6 million
The Gahanna Board of Education will pay $5.6 million for land to build high-school classrooms on the site of a former Kroger, eventually sharing the space with office and retail development.
What the district doesn't use of the 6.8 acres, it will lease to Stonehenge Land Co., which plans a development of as much as 100,000 square feet.
The old Kroger and surrounding stores at Hamilton Road and Granville Street, diagonally across from Gahanna Lincoln High School, will be razed.
Tonight,the Board of Education unanimously approved an agreement to buy the land.
Stonehenge Land Co. has a contract with the owner, George Wallingford Trust, to buy the site for $5.6 million, said Price Finley, an attorney hired by the district.
Originally, Stonehenge was going to own the land, build the 50,000 square feet of classrooms and lease them back to the district. The high-school classrooms, which would host innovative, college-level programs, were always intended to be the development's anchor.
But in the past two months, Superintendent Gregg Morris and board President Jeff Carson said, school-board members decided it would be better for the district to control the land.
So after Stonehenge completes its agreement to buy the land, the district will buy it from Stonehenge for the same price, $5.6 million.
The district can borrow the money without asking voters, Morris said.
The district hopes that revenue generated from the leases to Stonehenge for office and retail space, plus new taxes from jobs created, will help pay for the project, Morris said.
The district wouldn't say what it expects the classrooms to cost. The classroom construction project will be open to contractors through competitive bidding, Morris said.
The land and current buildings are valued at $3.38 million, according to the Franklin County auditor. Morris said the property's proximity to the high school was an important factor in the price.
"I believe tonight's action will be one of the most important policy decisions made by our district in terms of the impact it will have on future generations of students," Carson said.
Carson and Morris said they envision the new quarters allowing the district to expand partnerships with the Eastland-Fairfield Career and Technical Schools and Ohio University. Carson said that parents might actually save money because students will be able to take more classes for college credit.
If all goes well, the building and programs could be launched by fall 2010, and no later than fall 2011, Morris said.