Decatur’s school board approved purchasing 7/10ths of an acre Thursday morning, land immediately adjacent to the College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center. The sale cost of $525,000 will come out of the $75 million general obligation bond recently passed by voters, according City Schools Decatur’s Director of Finance Susan Hurst.
For now CSD remains mum on its plans for the property.
“If land is available on the periphery of a campus, and if the price is reasonable, we have to look at it,” said Board Chair Garrett Goebel. “They’re not making any more land, not in Decatur. I hope in the long run we can respond to more opportunities like this.”
In its breakdown of bond expenditures released in August CSD allotted $7 million for a new Early Childhood Learning Center, which may precede turning College Heights back into an elementary school.
Also in August the board approved collaborating with developer Columbia Ventures on architectural drawings for a new ECLC that could be included in Columbia’s mixed-use development at Sam’s Street and East College Avenue. But to date only those drawings, and no actual construction has been approved.
About the Author
