Old school building could go up for sale Town could generate revenue from sale of vacant property BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer SCOTT PILLING staff East Brunswick officials are considering the sale of the old McGinnis School site but would require that future owners maintain its educational use. EAST BRUNSWICK - A majority of township officials are expressing support for selling the old McGinnis School. The vacant, township-owned building at the corner of Dunhams Corner Road and Hardenburg Lane could be sold for revenue and would be restricted for use as an educational facility of some sort, officials said. Whether to declare the McGinnis School site as surplus and sell it was a topic of discussion at Monday's Township Council meeting. Only one council member, David Stahl, expressed opposition to the idea during the meeting. Township Business Administrator James White said a recent appraisal of the property gave it an estimated value of $300,000. That figure, he noted, is only for a "clean" property, however. Township officials have resolved that any environmental or other issues on the property will be left to the potential buyer to address. Mayor William Neary told the Sentinel there is an asbestos issue to be remediated by the future owner. Neary said the former school building is in bad shape and is an eyesore. By selling it, the township would not only generate revenue, but it would also get the building back on the tax rolls, he said. Whoever buys it would fix it up, saving the township on that cost and improving the appearance, Neary said. The new owner would be required to restore and maintain the facade of the existing building, he said. The township knows of at least one interested bidder, Neary said, but he did not disclose who that was. The township last year sold another old school building, the former Weber School at Riva Avenue and Hardenburg Lane, to the nearby St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church for $201,000. The McGinnis School, like the Weber School, has been vacant for years. It dates to the early 1900s and was last used as a school in 1977-78, according to Patricia LaDuca, coordinator of community relations and programs for the district. It was then used for school offices for the next 10 or 11 years, and at some point thereafter was turned over to the township. It has been vacant for most of the past 20 years. Neary said the McGinnis School building could once again be a beautiful property, as long as someone restores and maintains it. Before it could be sold, the council would have to declare the property as surplus. Council President Nancy Pinkin said the township has no use for the building in its present state. In order to be serviceable, it would need to be brought into compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, and would need code and environmental issues addressed. Neary estimated that it would cost the township about $700,000 to fix the building up properly. Councilwoman Catherine Diem said the township will require that the purchaser use the building only for educational purposes, and will have to bring it into ADA compliance. Stahl said he remains opposed to the sale, in part due to safety concerns. He does not want children at the site, which could be the case if it is operated as some type of school, because of its proximity to the Dunhams Corner Road intersection. "There's a public safety issue here," he said. Stahl said during a January meeting that the intersection at Hardenburg Lane is already dangerous and could be made more so with a quasi-commercial use there. He said the township or school district may ultimately want to use the property itself, a point that other officials argued, in part, because of the site's distance from the municipal complex. The property could be used as open space, or the town could seek grant money to restore the building, Stahl said. Stahl cautioned on Monday that if a nonprofit organization were to purchase and operate out of the building, there would be no tax revenue to the township, only the one-time payment for the purchase. If it is sold, Township Attorney Michael Baker has said the building would be publicly bid upon and there would be a restriction to prevent any buyer from demolishing the structure. Neary said the township would accept a sale price of no less than $260,000 for the property.