7/8/14 - The Howell School Board has sold the Latson Road Elementary property to St. John Providence Health System. The decision to approve the healthcare nonprofit's bid of just over $5 million was made at last night's board of education meeting. The property has been on sale, both with and without the school building, for the past two years, and Assistant Superintendent of Finance Rick Terres told the board last night that this was the first reasonable offer made in that time. St. John's had made two previous offers, including one that was higher in the initial dollar amount, but the commissions on those offers would have resulted in the district netting less than $5 million. St. John's is planning to construct a 50,000-square-foot ambulatory care facility that will provide health care with a wide array of specialties, and board members commented the hospital will bring high-paying jobs and new families to the community. Two board members, Mike Moloney and Deb McCormick, voted against the sale, saying the district should wait and seek higher offers. Moloney called the sale "a huge mistake" that the district will regret in the years to come. Other board members and district staff insisted that it was a good market price for the land, even factoring in the location near the new interchange. Superintendent Ron Wilson says the district is getting more per acre on that property than any commercial property sold in Livingston County in the past ten years. (TD)
↧