Contract for Cannon Beach school sale

Three of four Seaside School District properties are under contract or have pending offers, Superintendent Sheila Roley said at the Monday, Feb. 24, Seaside City Council meeting.

“We currently have an offer on Seaside High School and multiple offers on Gearhart,” Roley said.

A third district property — at Cannon Beach Elementary School — is now under a signed contract, for a price of $400,000 with the city of Cannon Beach.

The Cannon Beach City Council affirmed the contract at its March 3 meeting, Cannon Beach City Manager Bruce St. Denis said Wednesday.

The city will provide a check for earnest money in the amount of $50,000 to the title company.

“At this point the city and district are in the due diligence phase,” St. Denis said.

Since its closure in 2013 because of tsunami fears, residents and officials have expressed interest in purchasing the Cannon Beach property for potential uses, including a community center, museum or concert venue.

In September, officials said they intend to pursue the building as an interpretative arts or event center.

Both St. Denis and Roley anticipate the deal to be completed within the next three months.

Interest in the district’s other properties — the high school, Gearhart Elementary and Broadway Middle School — grew in February after a 30% reduction from the original listing, with price tags of $3.5 million for the high school, $2.9 million for the middle school and $1.2 million for Gearhart.

The reductions were spurred by feedback indicating teardown or rehabilitation costs will need to be borne by a developer, the district’s project manager Jim Henry said.

Henry said the district started at a higher price point taking into consideration that someone might be interested in buying Broadway or Gearhart to use the existing building.

According to Roley, the school board’s building and grounds subcommittee reviews offers and makes recommendations to the board.

A “lowball” offer on the high school property was rejected prior to the price reduction.

In September, Seaside High School and Broadway Middle School students will share the new campus in the Southeast Hills. Gearhart Elementary students will join students at The Heights, which is undergoing remodeling and expansion.

Gearhart Elementary students will join students at The Heights, which is also undergoing remodeling and expansion, scheduled for completion in the fall.