Several groups that expressed interest in the former Whittier Elementary School site will soon have their chance to get their hands on the property.

   Faurot and Lowell sites will also be up for grabs when the district auctions the three build-ings at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at Sargent Auctioneers, 401 Flanders Ave.

   The Whittier site sparked controversy a few months ago when the school board decided it would hold a public action despite requests for the land by New Lima Inc., a local housing development group.

   The group had plans to bring 12 homes to the 10-acre site on the corner of Reese and Holmes avenues. School board members said they needed to be fair to all parties interested in the property. At least two other groups had previously expressed interest in the land.

   Barb Massa of New Lima said Wednesday that the group is interested in bidding on the Whittier property, and is currently trying to determine what the group can afford.

   School Treasurer Ryan Stechschulte said Whittier has been appraised at $53,000, Lowell at $59,000 and Faurot at $78,000. The minimum bid accepted will be for the appraised amounts, he said.

   New Lima and the city were disappointed in the board’s decision to auction.

   “I was disappointed because we could have had all this time to go ahead and start construc-tion,” she said.

   Massa said if New Lima does get the propety, it would be ready to begin on the project im-mediately.

   “All we can do is hope we can get it,” she said. “If not, we will move onto something else.”

   The Tabernacle Community Development Corp. expressed interest a few months ago in bringing a senior housing complex to the site. Lorenzo White of the group said it is still inter-ested in bidding on the property, and possibly collaborating with another entity.

   A representative from Diversified Management Property and Support Services had also ad-dressed the board with an interest in Whittier. The local investment group could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

   In 1992, the district auctioned the former Longfellow School building to an individual who was not financially able to do the project as she had planned. Following years of neighbor com-plaints and code enforcement violations, the city recently acquired the property.

   Stechschulte said the district is requiring the highest bidder to have a $5,000 down payment and a copy of their plan. Stechschulte said the plan is so the district can try to avoid another Longfellow situation.

Posted: 08|26|05 at 10:38 am. Filed under: US News.