By Doug La Rocque
In the several years since the Berlin School District closed the former Grafton Elementary School, citing declining enrollment and increased operating costs, a parade of potential buyers have come forward with proposals for the property, and none has been able to follow through.
[private]The latest saw the School District come before the Grafton Planning Board several times with a proposal to subdivide the property. The idea was to sell the building and the surrounding lot to a New York City firm called Serpentine Valley Ventures for senior housing, while the District would retain a dozen acres or so behind the building for some possible future use.The Planning Board was able to come to an agreement with the School District about the subdivision, but Berlin School Board President Frank Zwack said this week that the deal has fallen through. Zwack declined to go into details about what went wrong. He also said another possible buyer who had hoped to convert the former school into an Arts Center, was unable to arrange funding for the proposal.
Soon after the school closed, the Berlin School Board offered the entire parcel to the Town of Grafton for one dollar. The Town, and then the Grafton Fire Department, explored the possibility of acquiring the property, but ultimately neither did.
Since then a Williamstown, Massachusetts based construction company, and a potential buyer who wanted to turn the facility into a fish farm, have expressed interest, but these deals also fell through. Zwack said a new potential buyer has recently expressed some interest, but it’s too early to identify that person or business. He did wish to thank the Grafton Planning Board for their help and insight during the sub-division process.
Speaking with The Eastwick Press Monday, Grafton Town Supervisor Ingrid Gundrum said she is very disappointed by the news, as she had hoped for new business for the Town and a return of the property to the tax rolls. She also said she is not interested in having the Town revisit the idea of purchasing the property.[/private]