Cary School District 26 might sell its Maplewood property to the village of Cary for $5.5 million and develop a new transportation site at another location after a yearslong dispute over the land.
Gregory Shaver/Shaw Local News Network, 2023
Cary School District 26 might sell its Maplewood property to the village of Cary for $5.5 million and develop a new transportation site at another location after a yearslong dispute over the land.
An intergovernmental agreement proposes that the village would buy the property — home of the long-shuttered Maplewood School — and the district would use the revenue to buy a new property for a transportation center. The village and district estimate the agreement would save District 26 about $4.2 million from the original cost of remaining at Maplewood, according to district documents.
This comes after the village rejected District 26′s attempts to rezone Maplewood to allow for a new transportation center. The village then offered to buy the property last year for $2.75 million, which the district declined.
District 26 Superintendent Brandon White said he had hoped to keep the Maplewood property, but ultimately recommended the transfer agreement to the school board.
“I don’t sit here today with a big smile,” White said.
But, he said he wants to avoid costly litigation with the village over its denial of rezoning for the land.
“I have to even place my own personal feelings aside and return back to those three goals: What’s best for our kids? Does it make financial sense to the district? And ensuring sustainability in our transportation center and the services that we provide and safe working conditions for our staff,” White said.
District 26 originally planned to demolish the former Maplewood School building and construct a new, $6 million transportation center on the property. The transportation center would be allowed to stay at Maplewood until the new center at another location is completed, White said.
The village, however, has hopes of spurring development on the property and getting the area back on the tax rolls. Developers previously proposed townhouses or apartments on the site, but all ultimately stepped away from their plans.
The village would pay for the property by issuing bonds that would be repaid through the downtown tax increment financing district created last year.
Several residents told the school board last week that they oppose the sale. Stephanie Schwall said she is wary of the proposal based on how the village has treated the district in the past.
“The village does not play nice from what I see historically,” she said. “The deal seems too good to be true and that’s a big warning sign for me.”
The district aims for an “ambitious” completion date of its new transportation center by August 2025, District 26 Finance and Operations Director David Shepherd said.
District 26 and the village are expected to vote on the agreement next week.
“I’m frustrated,” District 26 Board President Dee Darling said. “We were very transparent in the process following through with putting in a zoning application, doing all this stuff, and I feel like right now, we’re acting under duress at not being able to use our property.”