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| The old Athabasca School site at 3905 Princess Dr. is now up for sale Photograph by: Don Healy, Regina Leader-Post |
By Lisa Goudy
Three months after shutting its doors, the former Athabasca School is up for sale.
Regina Public Schools is requiring full written proposals, including intended use.
Debra Burnett, the deputy director of division services for the Regina Public Schools, said the advertisement is put out for interested buyers and there is no particular type of buyer the division is seeking.
"The reality is that in terms of the property and the zoning of the property, certain uses will be allowed and others will have to go through process at City Hall, so it's simply for people to put forward (proposals)," said Burnett. "Typically interested parties want to tell the board what it is they're interested in doing with the property.
"The board doesn't have anything particular in mind."
City of Regina zoning bylaws will dictate whether the property needs to be rezoned.
In the advertisement, it stated that "neither the highest nor any proposal will necessarily be accepted."
Burnett said the explanation for this is also quite simple.
"The board maintains the option to not accept the proposals if they're not deemed acceptable and the board may also accept a proposal that does not provide the highest bid, because of other considerations that may be associated with the proposal."
What is considered unacceptable will most likely be related to a price that is "too low," she said, adding that the board is not willing to release an estimate of how much they would like out of the land at this time.
Proposals must also include a payment schedule of the proposed price, including the deposit amount, the closing date and other relevant terms and conditions.
The property, located at 3905 Princess Dr., is approximately 3.5 acres of land.
"This is sort of the first step," explained Burnett. "The open tender for proposals will close on Nov. 4 and those proposals need to be analyzed. The board needs to make a decision as to if any of them are acceptable," she said. "Once the proposals are submitted and the board makes a decision, then it sort of starts another process."
When the school board determines a proposal as acceptable, the deal isn't closed yet. It is then passed on to the Ministry of Education and is subject to its approval.
"They have an interest in school buildings and school property," she said. "The involvement of the city will be around the zoning issues associated with the property. They don't have an interest in the property, per say."
If rezoning is required, it may take even longer for a deal to close.
"In terms of closing on those agreements, sometimes they take a relatively lengthy period of time to close if rezoning is required."
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