Upcoming presentation on sale or lease of three district buildings to include public input

At this month’s September 21 Board of Education meeting, Superintendent of Schools Robert Banzer and the district’s real estate agency, Newmark Realty, are expected to make a presentation regarding the sale or lease of three district buildings: Bellerose Avenue Elementary School, Dickinson Avenue Elementary School, and the William J. Brosnan building.

According to an earlier conversation between the Journal and Superintendent Banzer, the highly anticipated presentation will reveal the “categories” of interest for each building, marking the first time the public will hear any specifics about the possible fate of the properties. During the meeting, there will be an opportunity for the public to provide feedback to the board, Superintendent Banzer confirmed with the Journal today. Members of the community who are present will be asked to fill out a card in order to speak, and BOE President Larry Licopoli will receive the cards and invite each speaker to the microphone.

The district’s tentative plan is to use this presentation and follow-up from community members as a sort of “pre-referendum” and “temperature taking” that will help board members navigate its next steps, Licopoli told the Journal this summer. After hearing from the public, an action to move forward with any and all contracts must be made via a public vote by the BOE. From there, the developer, business or agency interested in purchasing the property will be responsible for presenting plans to the community, with specific details, before a final decision is made by district residents via a voter referendum.

Banzer told the Journal that a multitude of factors will affect whether a referendum is held by the end of the 2023 calendar year or later, including community input, legal processes, and more.

A February 2023 article on the Newmark website announcing its partnership with the NENUFSD said that the agency was expecting “robust interest” from developers for the sites. The listings encompass 233,380 square feet of existing educational buildings, totaling 42.6 acres, and “present a redevelopment opportunity for various sectors, including senior housing, assisted living, single-family homes and mixed-use assets,” the article reads. Newmark explained to the Journal in February that there is no asking price on the buildings; representatives from the agency have been soliciting bids for evaluation and presenting all offers to the district, reps said.

The school board has been receiving and reviewing offers on all three buildings in executive session, and will present information that’s as “specific as possible, without giving it all away,” Banzer told the Journal.

While a February statement made by Banzer and Licipoli said that the board would “deliberate in public to determine what is in the best interest of both the district and our residents,” Banzer announced in July that, on the advice of both legal counsel and Newmark, the district would not share all offers publicly prior to entering into contract, as it could “jeopardize those offers and weaken our negotiating power with the separate potential purchasers.”

The September 21 BOE meeting will take place at the William J. Brosnan building on Laurel Avenue, beginning at 7pm. A virtual option will be available, but only those present will be allowed to speak.