Sumner School up for sale or lease
6:17 p.m. Monday, March 12, 2007
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Like many properties up for sale, Sumner School has had many lookers.
City Spokesman David Bevens says, "I've shown it two or three times and will show it again by the end of the week."
But the two former school administrators hoping to turn Sumner into a charter school weren't able to get the backing of the school board, and once again any hopes of selling the building were dashed. The building is owned by the City, and last month it put out a request for proposal for anyone wanting to buy the property. But so far there have been no takers.
Are you interested?
To read a PDF of the Sumner School historic preservation covenant with the city of Topeka, link to Sumner School Covenant. If you want to bid on the property, print out a PDF bid request.
Shawn Leisinger is the president of the Ward Meade Neighborhood Improvement Association.
He says, "Folks in the neighborhood are hoping we'll get some sort of community use out of the building. There's been interest in senior housing."
Leisinger says neighbors are anxious to get the building occupied.
"Every month the building continues to stay vacant is that much more deterioration."
While vacant, someone has broken out windows and left graffiti on the walls. And during this tour, some issues caught the eye of members of the State Historical Society. Recently, the City received a letter from the agency asking for repairs to the roof and crumbling plaster. But City spokesman Dave Bevens says the building is quite sound.
"The building is in pretty good shape," Bevens said.
The building has been used for storage by the library and even was used by the Police Department to practice tactical maneuvers. Now Leisinger hopes selling the building would bring back more life into the neighborhood.
"This particular site has the possibility of being a uniting factor for the neighborhood," he says.
The City is working with the state to get some of those repairs done.
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