Lynn council revives move to sell school

LYNN – The City Council is reviving efforts to sell the vacant O’Keefe school building and the adjacent parking lot on Franklin Street.The council’s Public Property Committee voted Tuesday to hold a bid opening on April 27. The former school has been placed out to bid with the stipulation that the abutting lot be used only for parking.The request for proposals notes the minimum bid is $75,000.Last November, the council’s Public Property Committee halted an initiative to sell the former school at 176 Franklin St. to the lowest bidder.Rather than approve the sole bid by the Hall Company for $21,000, the committee voted to table the matter in order to give the bidder additional time to draft a more definitive plan for the two-story red brick building and the parking lot.Before voting, the committee heard from Michael Donovan, director of the city’s Inspectional Services Department, who explained it would cost $2 million to restore the building to its original use as a neighborhood school.”When it rains, the water comes through the walls,” Donovan told councilors. “The brick needs pointing up.”The O’Keefe School was among several city schools included in an assessment made last year to determine whether the structures should be rehabilitated or sold. When the decision was made to sell the property, the city solicited proposals for possible uses but set no minimum sale price.Upon learning the cost of rehabilitation, Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr opined that demolition would be a more sensible option. Cyr praised the Lynn-based Hall Company as a reputable business but added that the $21,000 offer was simply too low.The school, formerly known as the O’Keefe Community Day School and later as the city’s Welcoming Alternative School for elementary grade students, has been vacant for nearly three years.Although Hall’s bid was tabled in November, the committee voted unanimously to reject it in December.According to Donovan, the school building is assessed at $383,400 and the parking lot at $46,800. During that December meeting, Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant Jr. noted that the combined value of the two properties approaches $500,000 and that any subsequent bid must be a compromise.The council’s Public Property Committee met Feb. 23 and passed a measure to again attempt to sell the building.