Iowa City may seek bids for school property

IOWA CITY – The Iowa City school district is considering an unusual option for selling the Roosevelt Elementary School property: seeking bids rather than going the traditional route using a real estate agent.

The competitive bid process would allow the district to provide some protections the school's neighbors have sought by adding stipulations on how the property is used, Superintendent Stephen Murley said Tuesday at a meeting of the school board's Facilities Committee.

He also said seeking bids would be “significantly” better for the district financially than using a real estate agent. Among the reasons is the district would not have to pay an agent.

Murley is recommending the school board go with the bidding option, and the full board will consider the matter at its Jan. 17 meeting.

Roosevelt Elementary, at 611 Greenwood Dr., is closing at the end of this school year and will be replaced by Norman Borlaug Elementary a few miles to the west.

Neighbors of the school have said they fear it could be replaced by something like an apartment complex or a gas station.

The district was planning to use a real estate agent to sell the property, but it would have no control over what the buyer does with it. Murley said the district's attorney suggested using the competitive bid process open to governments in which the district would put out a proposal, bidders respond, and then the school board picks from among the interested parties.

Typically, governments seek bids for things like building projects and equipment purchases. Murley wasn't sure how often it was used for land sales.

Of the five school board members participating in the Facilities Committee meeting, only Tuyet Dorau voiced some reservations about seeking bids. She wondered if the district could put itself in a position where the property doesn't sell for a while and the district has to pay to maintain an empty school and if putting conditions on the sale would narrow the number of interested parties and reduce the price.

Board member Jeff McGinness said it's possible the price could be affected, but he noted the board could switch and go with the option of using a real estate agent if it wanted.

The approximately eight-acre property was appraised earlier this year at $770,000, which school officials found disappointingly low. Another appraisal will be done.

The district has talked with the city about subdividing the property and having a ravine on its western and northern edges become public green space.

The property is currently zoned for governmental use. The buyer will want the land rezoned before the deal is closed on, and that process, handled by the city, could take several months, Murley said.