The chosen firm’s assessment will also involve all the district’s properties and facilities, which officials said range from a 95-year-old intermediate school to elementaries built earlier this century.
City officials said last week the Easton Farm land buy would give them more control over the future of the property, which has been the focus of hotly debated development proposals for more than 15 years, including a court settlement.
It could also benefit the school district if a deal emerges for a land swap, Mayor John Agenbroad said.
School board Vice President Lisa Babb said she was impressed by “the feedback and the buzz” surrounding the latest issue involving Easton Farm.
“To see the collaboration that is potentially there for the city for a place that brought a lot of controversy and to think about there being some possibility that … the schools could also be a part of that, it’s really, really neat,” Babb said.
The school board Tuesday night approved seeking submissions from architectural businesses for the district’s assessment. The issue will be advertised with a deadline of Aug. 7, said Scott Gilbert, chief operations officer for the district.
The goal is to make a recommendation on a firm to hire next month, Gilbert said. Springboro Superintendent Carrie Hester said the analysis is needed for the district.
The selected firm “would assess everything that we have, the conditions of our buildings and what’s the biggest need,” Hester said.
While the district’s enrollment of about 6,100 hasn’t changed much in recent years, officials said facilities are aging.
Clearcreek Elementary was built in 1968, the junior high 11 years later and the high school in 1997, Hester said.
The city last week approved a measure to enter into a purchase agreement with Easton Farm Partners, LLC with the aim of swapping about 20 acres with the school district.
City officials said they had been approached by representatives of the farm’s owners and hope to reach an agreement with the school district about trading land, including the farm acreage at 605 N. Main St.
Various developments have been proposed on that site dating back to 2008. A court settlement two years ago allowed housing, retail and commercial development on land separate from the acreage Springboro is interested in buying.
The city and the school district are seeking a deal involving several properties, both sides said. Aside from the 20-acre 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.
If the site assessment at Easton Farm is positive, an agreement for land transfers will be considered by both parties, the city said.
Springboro City Council rejected a development proposal and rezoning for the Easton Farm in 2021. But in October 2022, a court settlement was reached between the city of Springboro, Easton Farm Partners LLC and others, granting certain zoning status to the $265 million housing, retail and commercial development that had been proposed for the site along Ohio 741.
Plans to develop the same land had been brought forward by other developers in 2008 and 2017, but either were rejected by the city or dropped.
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