Winning Bid for Bennett Street school????

[fiberisgoodforyou]

Who won the bid, and whats the PLAN???

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/0509/Front_page/050.html

Freehold prepares to sell one-time police station
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - A building that formerly housed the Freehold Borough Police Department can be had for the right price.

A notice for a Request for Proposals (RFP) has been issued by borough officials for the sale of the building and property at the corner of Hudson and Bennett streets. Bidding will start at $600,000.

The building has been vacant since 2003, when police operations were moved to the Rug Mill Towers on Jackson Street.

Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina said the 1.35-acre parcel is on an L-shaped corner lot. The property has 200 feet of frontage on the east side of Hudson Street, 240 feet of frontage on the south side of Bennett Street and 50 feet of frontage on the north side of Center Street. The 12,180-square-foot building, built in 1910 as the borough's high school, also contains a 2,700-square-foot finished basement.

Bellina said the site must be redeveloped in accordance with a redevelopment plan that has been approved by the Borough Council.

The property is in a residential zone and must follow restrictions laid out by the redevelopment plan which includes the following:

There cannot be any additions made to the front or sides of the building without the approval of the Historic Preservation Committee and no additional principal structures can be built on the property. The historic appearance of the existing building must be incorporated into any additions.

With the exception of maintenance, there can be no alterations to the exterior front and sides of the building. Window air-conditioning units are prohibited.

According to the redevelopment plan, the following uses for the building are permitted: a performing arts center; a community arts and activities center including classes or instruction for acting, dancing, singing, martial arts, yoga or visual art; schools or day-care centers for children or disadvantaged adults; business or professional offices; and a post office.

A preproposal meeting will be held at 10 a.m. May 16 in Borough Hall. An inspection of the building and property will immediately follow that meeting.

All proposals must be submitted to Bellina's office by 11 a.m. June 28. Municipal officials will review the proposals before deciding how to proceed. For more information call borough hall at [phone].

[Libyan Sibyl]

Looks like the lowest bid won (the starting bid was the sale price that is still under attorney review).

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2008/0102/schools/005.html

K-8 district may profit from sale of old school
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - A local landmark that has been in a state of disrepair for years may be brought back to life in the near future.

The brick building on Bennett Street that was first a school and later housed the town's police department has been vacant for several years since the police moved into new headquarters at the Rug Mill Towers on Jackson Street.

The borough has been trying to sell the Bennett Street building and get it back on the tax rolls. According to Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina, it appears that a contract with a bid of $600,000 from Todd Bernstein is now in attorney review.

If the sale goes through and the building is reused that could be good news for the neighborhood it sits in and for the Freehold Borough School District. The neighborhood would see a dilapidated building fixed up and the school district would get a portion of the proceeds of the sale, according to Bellina.

Bellina said the uses for the building that have been discussed by Bernstein, who presented the highest bid for the structure, are all ones that would be permitted.

Permitted uses include any of the following: a performing arts center; a community arts and activities center including classes or instruction for acting, dancing, martial arts, yoga or visual art; schools or day care centers for children or disadvantaged adults; business or professional offices; and a post office.

The borough issued requests for proposals in the spring. The minimum bid for the building was $600,000, according to Bellina.

Councilman Jaye Sims, who is the Borough Council's liaison to the Freehold Borough Board of Education, mentioned the possible proceeds from the sale of the Bennett Street building at the Dec. 10 meeting of the school board. Sims said the school district could realize $500,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the building.

Bellina said that figure is probably correct and is reflective of an accurate assessment if (he stressed "if") the sale goes through as planned. He said the borough would recoup its expenses (appraisals, engineers, advertising etc.) before giving the school district any money.

Sims said talk of giving the proceeds of the sale of the old Bennett Street School to the school district began in May 2006.

According to Bellina, the 1.35-acre parcel is on an L-shaped corner lot. The building has a 2,700-square-foot finished basement. The property must be developed in accordance with a redevelopment plan the council approved. The historic appearance of the building must be incorporated into any additions.

The 12,180-square-foot structure was built in 1909 as the original Freehold High School. It served as a high school until 1926 when the new high school opened on Broadway.

The Bennett Street School housed elementary school and intermediate school pupils until the late 1960s. Police moved into the building in 1979 and stayed there until the new headquarters in the renovated rug mill opened.

[fiberisgoodforyou]

Bidding opening was around June 28th. Lets say the Bid was awarded early July.

This has been out for attorney review for 6 months?

Anyone care to clarify why so long?

Also, sounds like the winning bid was close to the starting bid, as suggested by the articles mention that the schools only getting around $500K for the sale.

I wonder what the School Board will be spending this money on?

Is there a suitable commercial building they can buy to move the Administrion office out of Park ave, thus giving the schools the added space for needed for class rooms. Maybe move the Pre_k back on site and save the $40K-$50K spent to house the Pre-K off site???

Just an Idea..........!!!

[fiberisgoodforyou]

fiberisgoodforyou said:

Who won the bid, and whats the PLAN???

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2007/0509/Front_page/050.html
Municipal officials will review the proposals before deciding how to proceed.

Did anyone see the announced time, date and location in the paper for the public bid opening and/or public bid review, or was this not one of those types of RFP's for public property?

Does this mean the Bid was not awarded simply on highest price bidded that meets the defined terms of uses as defined in the RFP?

I hope this gets people out to attend Zoning/Planning meetings!

[petedefonzo]

Sims said talk of giving the proceeds of the sale of the old Bennett Street School to the school district began in May 2006.

Mr. Sims seems to have a habit of confusing facts. While it might seem minor, the credit for getting the proceeds of the sale of the old Bennett Street School, for the Public schools, belongs to Kevin Coyne. Who, I believe was off the council in 2005. Just trying to keep the record straight !

[novillero]

P.s. it appears the bid was won by the same guy who destroyed the Bartleson Mansion, then walked away from the project (or someone with the same exact name).

[adefonzo]

novillero said:

P.s. it appears the bid was won by the same guy who destroyed the Bartleson Mansion, then walked away from the project (or someone with the same exact name).

a couple of quotes from a July 20th article in the News Transcript about what Novillero mentioned...

"In the near future, a 39,000-square-foot office building will sit on the property at 83 South St. Bernstein said the new building will provide office space and bring people into the borough to frequent its shops and restaurants.

“This is something that, once done, will change Freehold Borough. People will see us investing so much money and this will bring more businesses to the borough,” Bernstein said of the $5 million project"

Two and a half years later (beyond the "near future" mentioned) there is still no completed project...are we going to have the same lack of progress to look forward to with the Bennett Street School?

[Libyan Sibyl]

fiberisgoodforyou said:

Bidding opening was around June 28th. Lets say the Bid was awarded early July.

This has been out for attorney review for 6 months?

Anyone care to clarify why so long?

Also, sounds like the winning bid was close to the starting bid, as suggested by the articles mention that the schools only getting around $500K for the sale.

I wonder what the School Board will be spending this money on?

Is there a suitable commercial building they can buy to move the Administrion office out of Park ave, thus giving the schools the added space for needed for class rooms. Maybe move the Pre_k back on site and save the $40K-$50K spent to house the Pre-K off site???

Just an Idea..........!!!

From April 2003 (yes, the year was two thousand three)...

"...The mayor’s statement also addressed the effort that is now under way to sell the old police headquarters building on Bennett Street so that it may then be returned to the tax rolls. Residents who live near the building have expressed a desire to see it sold for office use, according to Wilson..."

newstranscript.gmnews.com/news/2003/0409/Front_page/024.html