Laurel Valley school sale approved
During the next 60 days, the firm purchasing the shuttered Laurel Valley Middle/High School will bring in architects to evaluate the building, create preliminary drawings and talk to local contractors about transforming the property into a drug and alcohol treatment center.
On June 23 Westmoreland County President Judge Richard E. McCormick Jr. gave formal approval to the $1.7 million sale of the defunct school to Western PA Coal Resorts LLC, which plans to lease the property to Retreat, a company that operates rehabilitation centers in Lancaster County and Palm Beach County, Fla.
Peter Schorr, chief executive officer of Retreat, hopes to open the facility in the first or second quarter of 2016.
The Ligonier Valley School Board approved the purchase in April.
The company plans to pen a 20-year lease for the property with Retreat. The school building is about 12 miles north of Ligonier on Route 711 and neighbors the Laurel Valley Elementary School.
The proposal has drawn mixed reaction in the community. Some have touted the value of bringing such a facility to Westmoreland County and returning the property to the tax rolls, while others are concerned about the impact of an addiction treatment center in the area.
In rubber-stamping the deal, McCormick said, “there appears to be no evidence for me not to approve the sale. It appears the school district and its representatives have done their due diligence.”
McCormick heard testimony from two real estate brokers — Anthony Ferry of Keller Williams Realty of Pittsburgh and Donald Kramer of Berkshire Hathaway Preferred Realty in Ligonier — called by school district solicitor Dennis Rafferty.
Although they were not involved in the sale, Ferry and Kramer said the district received a “fair and reasonable” price for the two parcels that total 66 acres and the school building, which was closed in June 2010.
Kramer said that in today's real estate market, “(school properties) can be very difficult to sell ... kind of a white elephant. There are few businesses that have a use for them.”
District Superintendent Christine Oldham testified Western PA Coal Resorts' offer for the property was the first received in the four years the school district attempted to sell it.
School board Vice President Jack McDowell said the district has spent at least $70,000 annually in maintenance costs related to the closed building and property. He added that the firm anticipates hiring about 100 people the first year of operation and as many as 200 thereafter.
Although several residents spoke against the sale at public meetings this year, no one appeared at the hearing to oppose the sale.
The sale includes mineral rights to the property. Schorr said the firm does not have plans for the minerals at this time.
“We're just concerned about getting the facility open and running,” he said. “That's our focus right now.”
Rafferty said the board was required under state school code to seek a judge's approval because it was a private sale.
Oldham said the firm will next have to obtain approval from St. Clair Township and Westmoreland County for a few subdivisions, since the school is retaining the football field area and a 500-foot buffer area behind the elementary school.
The firm now has a 60-day due diligence period, Oldham said.
“During that time they still have the opportunity to really make sure the building is going to suit their needs,” she said, adding that the firm could choose to back out of the sale.
Schorr said he wants to begin construction after the due diligence period. Retreat plans to set up an advisory board, “like a task force with local community members and local law enforcement,” to address safety concerns. He said their main concerns is reassuring families and residents that “everything is safe and secure at the site.”
Paul Peirce is a reporter for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at ppeirce@tribweb.com or 724-850-2860. Staff writer Nicole Chynoweth contributed to this report. She can be reached at nchynoweth@tribweb.com or 724-850-2862.
