“We hope to close on the property by the end of the year,” Pozzuto told this news organization.
Credit: STAFF
Credit: STAFF
City council is set Thursday night to address the bond financing.
The city has been in talks with Springboro schools about a deal that would involve about one third of the 60 acres. The city/schools agreement would involve a land swap, and Springboro education officials said they are interested in a new school at that site.
Development of the Easton site has been a hotly debated issue for years, with various proposals dating back to 2008.
After disagreement between developers and Springboro city council, a 2022 court settlement was reached allowing housing, retail and commercial development on the part of the land closer to Ohio 741, separate from the acreage Springboro is interested in buying.
Springboro schools in recent months have taken steps to assess all of its properties, which range in age from a 95-year-old intermediate school to elementary schools built this century.
Springboro schools this summer sought proposals from businesses to analyze its property. SHP Architecture ranked highest among a handful of professional design firms, said Scott Gilbert, Springboro’s chief operations officer for the district.
Next week the school district plans to present an agreement with SHP to the board of education, according to Scott Marshall, Springboro schools communications coordinator.
The intermediate school was built in 1929, Clearcreek Elementary in 1968, the junior high 11 years later and the high school in 1997, Superintendent Carrie Hester said.
The city and the school district have said they are seeking a deal involving several properties. Aside from the Easton Farm site, it would involve current school district land at the former Jonathan Wright Elementary and Clearcreek Elementary, as well as maintenance and use of Wade Field at the Springboro Intermediate School, district officials said.
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