Pennecon top bidder on shuttered schools
Pennecon Ltd.’s real estate arm is the top bidder on all three abandoned St. John’s schools for a combined $3 million-plus, the company confirmed to The Telegram.
The bids on tenders issued by the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District were opened late Wednesday for former high schools Bishops College and Booth Memorial in central St. John’s and Macpherson Elementary on Newtown Road.
Sarah Constantine, corporate communications manager for Pennecon, said the company has no immediate plans for redevelopment and over the coming months, after the deal is concluded, it will work out those details.
“We feel enthusiastic about the development potential,” Constantine said, adding the company is pleased to come in on top with what it said were “fair and competitive bids” based on an analysis of property values.
The school district confirmed on Thursday that Pennecon Realty was the highest bidder Wednesday on all three properties.
The high bid amounts were $1,229,901 for Booth Memorial, $1,227,501 for Bishops College and $895,695 for Macpherson Elementary.
Official awarding of the tenders has not occurred yet, the district said.
Constantine said it’s not decided whether the schools would be redeveloped as commercial, residential or a mix of both, but the development team will work out what’s most suitable.
“It’s pretty open right now,” she said.
There has been no decision about whether to demolish the schools, Constantine said.
Unconfirmed information independent of the top bidder or the school district suggests there were some lowball offers on the two high schools from one bidder, as well as a lot of interest in all three, and Pennecon was by far the highest bidder on all three.
The district says it needs to finalize the tender process before it’s officially awarded and cannot yet comment.