The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Hale Elementary School sold
Riverside Schools sells decommissioned school to Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve
The Riverside School District has announced the sale of the decommissioned Hale Elementary,
56 Hale Road, to the Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve.
The sale will see ESCWR paying the Riverside district $110,000 over the span of the next three years, according to
Riverside documents.
Riverside is in the midst of an ongoing restructuring phase which sees many of its existing buildings replaced or consolidated into new structures. Hale, alongside Hadden, Leroy, and Madison elementary schools were closed in June of 2019.
New structures, Parkside and
Riverview, were built in their place.
“The Educational Service Center of the Western Reserve plans to operate unique programs and services at Hale Road to support school districts and students across Lake County and beyond,” according to a statement from Riverside.
ESCWR Superintendent Jennifer Felker highlighted that Hale will be used to facilitate multiple cross-district programs throughout Lake and Geauga counties.
ESCWR is the recent amalgam of the former Lake County and Geauga County educational service centers. The two separate agencies combined at the start of 2020.
ESCWR Superintendent Jennifer Felker highlighted that Hale will be used to facilitate multiple cross-district programs throughout Lake and Geauga counties.
She said the Hale property was selected due to its proximity to state Route 2 and accessibility for multiple districts.
“Location plays a big part,” she said.
Another aspect was the condition of the building which was satisfactorily maintained by Riverside, according to Felker. This allowed them to expedite the moving process, a step further bolstered by an initial lease with intent to purchase agreement which allowed ESCWR to operate within Hale prior to the sale’s finalization.
“We have been in discussions with the ESC for almost a year regarding Hale Road Elementary,” said Riverside Treasurer Gary Platko. “We entered into a lease agreement with the ESC so they can utilize the facility starting with the 2019-20 school year while finalizing the details of a purchase agreement.
“The proceeds from the sale will be paid into a special fund for the construction or acquisition of permanent improvements as required by law.”
In December, Riverside sold the back portion of Hadden Elementary to Painesville Township in order for the township to maintain lands used as shared community park space.
Riverside stated during the Hale announcement that “the District will continue to do its due diligence on the decommissioning of the front portion of Hadden Elementary as well as the Leroy Elementary property.”