Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has reported on the fate of Hustead Elementary School since it was first announced that the school would be closed.
The former Hustead Elementary School, along with excess furniture and other supplies belonging to Greenon Local Schools, will be auctioned off Saturday.
One of two local auctioneers, Bill Waddle with Ohio Real Estate Auctions, is a former Greenon school board member. He’s eager to see the building sold and put to good use.
“It’s really hard to tell how it will go,” Waddle said. “It would make an excellent school, it would make an excellent church.”
Hustead was closed during a district consolidation at the end of the 2013-14 school year. Needed furniture was removed, with some being placed in storage at the high school; but hundreds of chairs, desks, cabinets and appliances are going to be available at the auction as well.
“Hustead is a great school that served this community well for many years,” said Greenon Superintendent Daniel Bennett. “Our hope is that through this process we will find a buyer who will use the Hustead property to its best advantage.”
The 20-acre property has been split into four parcels for sale:
•One 13-acre tract which includes the 44,500-square-foot school building, parking lot and existing sanitation system.
•One three-acre wooded lot at the far western edge of the property.
•One two-acre tract immediately east of the building lot.
•One two-acre tract at the far eastern edge of the property.
The lots will be offered individually or in any combination to the highest bidder.
The land sale will take place first beginning at 10 a.m., Saturday, followed by the smaller property items probably starting around noon, Waddle said.
“We are not scraping the building. We are just selling the extra things that are stored there,” he said. “(The building) will still have some of the useful things inside,” such as built-in furniture, plumbing fixtures and some kitchen equipment.
Items for sale include blackboards, cabinets, shelves, chairs and desks.
Waddle has been auctioning property since 1985, but this is his first school building auction.
“We’d like to see it be sold and be useful,” he said. He noted that the former Boone Station school on Old Mill Road was sold in 2005 at auction, but has sat empty ever since.
The district has declined to release the appraisal value of the Hustead property, but the most recent value on record with the Clark County Auditor’s office is $2.9 million for the entire site.
The auction begins at 10 a.m. Saturday, on site at 3600 Hustead Rd.
Interested buyers have a final chance to view the property from 5-6 p.m. Tuesday.
Contact auctioneer Ron Denney at 937-572-4468 for more information.
About the Author