Allegheny Valley's former Colfax school building on market for $1.9M

The former Colfax Upper Elementary School in Springdale is on the market for $1.9 million.

Allegheny Valley School Board last week entered into a six-month contract with commercial real estate agent CBRE, Inc. to see if there is interest in the shuttered building.

The school board agreed to sign an exclusive sales listing agreement with CBRE, which could collect $114,000 if the site is sold for $1.9 million, or 6% of the sales price.

The board has the right to approve, modify or reject any offers.

The board has debated what to do with the closed school building for the past several years, agreeing at times to sell or demolish it. The board has discussed securing more bids for demolition, hoping for lower costs than a preliminary estimate of $1 million that included the cost of removing asbestos.

Expenses for the shuttered school were expected to be about $120,000 for the school year. Colfax closed in 2018 when its students moved to the expanded and renovated Acmetonia Elementary School.

The school board’s decision last week to sell the building was to gauge market interest, members said.

“We want to find out if there is any future use where the district could turn it into an asset rather than a liability,” board member David Buchman said.

“The condition of the building has been discussed for years and repairs that are needed and how expensive that was going to be,” he added.

Board member Paula Moretti still would like to see the district keep the site.

“It’s a beautiful piece of property. We could build later depending on our needs,” she said.

“Why get rid of the property? We are not distressed,” Moretti added.

She thinks the $1 million estimate to demolish the building is too high.

“That’s a lot of money. You have to be frugal, especially during the pandemic,” she said.