HEATH — Nearly two years after closing Heath Elementary School, the town is accepting proposals from prospective buyers.
The town started taking requests for proposal applications on Wednesday. The submission deadline is 2 p.m. on Feb. 15. Heath will accept a minimum bid of $250,000, according to its request for proposals document. A recent broker valued the property at $500,000.
The 12-acre site, built in the mid-1990s, features a playground, baseball diamond and soccer field. The building has not had a permanent resident since Heath voted to close the school in May 2017. The town has maintained the building with settlement funds it received from the Mohawk Trail Regional School District in return for closing the school.
Heath hadn’t received any bids as of Wednesday.
“I wouldn’t expect it to — it’s only been one day,” Andrea Woods, chief procurement officer for Franklin County Council of Governments said.
A vote to see whether Heath residents will permit the Board of Selectmen to sell or lease the former elementary school is scheduled for the Feb. 12 town meeting.
The Board of Selectmen can accept or reject any and all proposals according to the towns’ best interests, the request for proposal document states.
Last November, Heath asked prospective buyers to submit a request for interest application, Town Coordinator Kara Leistyna said. The town received two applications by its Dec. 28 deadline, both from businesses intending to grow or distribute cannabis.
Carnegie Arch LLC expressed interest in growing, processing and distributing cannabis on site, Leistyna said, while Konstant Phlow Gardens said it intended to redevelop the property “into a cannabis production facility.”
Heath students currently pay tuition to attend Hawlemont Regional Elementary. A group with representatives from Heath, Hawley and Charlemont is working to add Heath to the Hawlemont Regional School District as a member town.
Questions about proposal requirements or other issues can be sent in writing to Andrea Woods at bids@frcog.org.
You can reach Grace Bird at:
gbird@recorder.com
413 772 0261 ext. 280