Posted on 02/05/2010 7:03:19 PM PST by iowamark
115-year-old building too costly to keep.
DALLAS CITY, Ill. -- After spending more than a year trying to decide what to do with the 115-year-old building that once served as Dallas City's high school and elementary school, officials have decided to put it up for public sale.
The deteriorating condition of the building has turned it into a liability the district can no longer afford.
"The roof of the gymnasium became a serious problem when the rains showed up in August," said Dallas City School District superintendent Jo Campbell.
The center portion of the three-story brick building, often referred to as "The Castle," was boarded up more than a decade ago after Dallas City High School students were moved to Nauvoo-Colusa High School.
It is known as "The Castle" due to its classic, castle-like design.
The connected high school and elementary buildings also served as the Great River Community Center, which provided offices and venues for numerous local clubs and organizations, including a boxing club and the Top Hatters dance club.
The center was funded through a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant, which provided enough money to keep the utilities in the old building running for after-school programs.
The school district's risk management company inspected the building in October and deemed it a large liability risk due to deterioration. The school board then told the organizations using the building they had to vacate by December, and the after-school programs were moved to the elementary school.
Campbell said the district sought bids from construction companies to determine how much it would cost to repair. It turned out to be higher than the district could afford. Bricks already have fallen from two crumbling chimneys on the old castle section of the building, and the roof is leaking in several spots. Heavy rains in August exposed several new leaks above the stage area of the new gym, and Campbell said the cost to repair it would run about $375,000.
"That's about one-fourth of the district's bonding capacity," Campbell said, noting that $500,000 of that is taken up by several outstanding bonds.
The district began a sealed-bid process Jan. 25, but Campbell has yet to receive any offers. Sealed bids will continue to be accepted on the building at 151 N. Fourth St. until 2 p.m. Feb. 24, and the bids will be opened March 1. The board of education has not set a minimum purchase price, and Campbell declined to comment on the possible value of the building.
Bidder information packets will be available at the school district's secretaries' office at 921 Creamery Hill Road, Dallas City. Tours for prospective buyers will be at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday.
Questions about the sale can be directed to Campbell, who can be reached at (217) 852-3202.
http://dcbulldogs.com/
“”Tours of the former Castle, High School, and Elementary School, for bidding purposes, will be given on February 6th at 1:00 PM, 2:00 PM, and 3:00 PM.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE
NOTICE OF PUBLIC SALE OF REAL ESTATE
DALLAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 327
HANCOCK/HENDERSON COUNTIES, ILLINOIS
Notice is hereby given that the Board of Education of Dallas Elementary School District No. 327, Hancock/Henderson Counties, Illinois, will sell at a public sale the property commonly known as the former “Castle”, High School, and Elementary School (one building) located at 151 E. 4th Street, Dallas City, Illinois (the “Real Estate”), by sealed bid, which will be opened on March 1, 2010, at 1:00 p.m., at the School District’s Conference Room, 921 Creamery Hill Road, Dallas City, Illinois. Bids are due to the School District’s Secretaries’ Office, 921 Creamery Hill Road, Dallas City, Illinois, no later than 2:00 p.m. on February 26, 2010. All bids received after February 26, 2010, 2:00 p.m. will not be considered and will be returned unopened to the bidder. Facsimile bids will not be considered. The award of the bid, if at all, shall be by the Board of Education on March 4, 2010, at 7:00 p.m., at its scheduled Board meeting to be held at the School District’s Cafeteria Room, 921 Creamery Hill Road, Dallas City, Illinois.
The Board of Education has not set a minimum purchase price for this sale, but does reserve the right to reject any and all bids whether they meet bid specifications or not, to waive all irregularities, or to reschedule the public sale.
Starting on January 25, 2010, a bidders’ information packet will be available at the School District’s Secretaries’ Office which shall contain the terms and conditions of the sale, a bid form, a specimen real estate purchase agreement, and a commitment for title insurance for the Real Estate. Any questions relating to the sale of the Real Estate should be sent in writing to the attention of the Superintendent by facsimile at (217) 852-3203 or delivered in person to the Superintendent. A written response to all inquiries shall be given by the Superintendent to the contact information on the bid. No oral representations will be binding upon the Board of Education. Additionally, no inquiries may be submitted after February 24, 2010, 5:00 p.m. The public sale will be made on the terms and conditions that are available in the above mentioned bidders information packet.
See information regarding the “old high school” in the Documents and Forms section of our website.””
http://dcbulldogs.com/documents/files/GRCC Update 02-01-10.pdf
“”GRCC Update
The following information is a general outline of events relative to the sale of the Great River Community Center (GRCC) property that has occurred over the past few weeks.
School buildings and property, in particular the GRCC property, was again an agenda item for the December, 2009, meeting of the Dallas Elementary school board. Following a discussion of the item, action was taken directing the administration to prepare appropriate resolutions and documents for advertisement and sale of the GRCC property. Our school district legal counsel was contacted and the necessary documents were prepared for consideration at the next regular board meeting to be held on January 21, 2010.
Anne Haaker and two of her colleagues from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA) visited the GRCC on the morning of January 6, 2009. The three representatives from the IHPA and I toured the buildings, led by Mr. Rodney Norris. Their visit was an effort to provide us with information regarding possible listing of the castle on The National Register of Historic Places. Following the tour I met with the IHPA team, and we discussed the district’s position regarding the potential sale of the GRCC property. Ms. Haaker and her colleagues provided input on their impressions of the facilities. They indicated the condition of the buildings is common, and similar to what they have seen in their travels and tours of other buildings of this era. Anne said she would forward additional contact information for other groups that may be able to assist us in marketing of the property. Information regarding IHPA is located on the web at http://www.illinoishistory.gov/.
At the January 21, 2010, meeting, the school board adopted a resolution for sale of property for the GRCC facilities. The resolution is located on the district’s website, and is being published in the Hancock County Journal on January 24, February 3, and February 10. Also, on the last weekend of January the notice is being published in the Burlington Hawkeye and the Peoria Journal Star. A timeline for the sale of property is found in the resolution.
On January 25, I received a communication from Anne Haaker, containing contact information for Christine Morris at the National Trust for Historic Preservation Midwest (NTHPM) http://www.preservationnation.org/about-us/regional-offices/midwest/. After calling and leaving a message at her office, Christine returned my call on January 27. Ms. Morris was very helpful, and from her I obtained information relative to matching grants that are provided by various philanthropic organizations. The matching grants we discussed are mainly for feasibility and alternative use studies for properties such as those found at the GRCC. Applicants for the grants must be not-for-profit tax exempt entities. However, a tax exempt entity, such as a school district or city government, may submit an application on behalf of individuals or groups that do not currently possess a tax exempt designation.
A special school board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 4, 2010, for the purpose of considering bids that have been submitted for the GRCC property. The meeting will be at 7:00 p.m. in the elementary school cafeteria. Please contact me with any questions you may have regarding this project.
Jo R. Campbell, Superintendent””
A beautiful old building, a short 2 blocks from the Mississippi river could be yours. Does need a new roof.
Bet they loved going to school there. Sad for the kids.
Funny there is no ‘stimulus’ money for this place, could employ some construction workers and keep teachers employed as well.
This is a sad example of what may have to become a trend. Because of easy money, this country it vastly overbuilt. There are too many buildings, not enough productive activity to fill them, and not enough spare resources to maintain them.
While this building may be “saved” because of its historical nature, other buildings will not be so lucky. Bulldozers and demolition crews may be busy for years.
I was the high bidder (only bidder) on the property ... The Dallas ESD board met tonight and could either accept or reject the sale .. should know tomorrow (later today) ... If the sale is allowed I will be needing to find funding to rehab this grand structure into a community center.. Illinois is a basket case financially but if any Illinois freepers have decent political connections to a US rep or senator that could get this project done under the guise of putting construction workers to work that would be wonderful.
interesting building ping
I really wish you the best, nice to see this might have a happy ending. I hope you keep us posted as to how this goes. Unfortunately have no political clout or influences.
I was notified that the board accepted the bid ,, so it’s mine ... the town has had a significant drop in population through the years and the building has been “surplus” for a decade...
It’s obviously never going to be a school again,, the “historic society” in the area isn’t too uptight about altering the building as long as the “flavor” isn’t lost... I was thinking about getting into some politicians pocket to remodel it into a community center with sports and athletic equipment... A school from this period near me in Sanford FL was altered into an assisted living home ,, that could be a moneymaker too but would require a serious amount of cash to do..
We’ll see how it goes .. I’m open to ideas from anyone .. and even more open to ideas from someone with cash!
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