A6 • Friday, September 20, 2019 | Seaside Signal | SeasideSignal.com
Gearhart, Sunset Rec eye Seaside school properties
would have this space, but
we’re not sure what we
would do with it.”
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
With schools on the sales
block, local cities and spe-
cial districts are among
those that may be eyeing the
properties.
At $3.6 million, Broad-
way Middle School may
seem like a deal for the Sun-
set Empire Park and Recre-
ation District, desperately
in need of gyms and class-
rooms, after a bond plan
closer to $20 million was
defeated last spring.
And in Gearhart, the
city is taking a hard look
at the Gearhart Elementary
School property, marketed
by real estate agency Norris
& Stevens at an asking price
of $1.9 million.
At the city’s Sept. 12
Planning
Commission
meeting, City Administrator
Chad Sweet said, the city is
“not sure” what to do with
the property if a purchase
was pursued. “There’s a lot
of interest in park space, but
$2 million for park space —
it would be expensive.”
According to Gear-
hart zoning code, the prop-
erty could be used as a pub-
lic or government facility,
or rezoned for residential
development.
The building is almost
32,000 square feet, sitting
on 8.44 acres, and includes
a main school with gymna-
sium, cafeteria; four mod-
ular buildings and covered
outdoor basketball courts.
No commercial rezoning
at the property would be
allowed.
“After talking to their
representative, in our esti-
mation that school would
be quite expensive to tear
down,” Sweet said. “We
Possible partnership?
Norris & Stevens
Broadway Middle School, as presented in a bid package from Norris & Stevens Real Estate.
R.J. Marx
Entry at Broadway Middle School.
R.J. Marx
Gearhart Elementary School, for sale at a price of $1.9 million.
Broadway
Middle
School, at about 73,000
square feet on 3 acres, is
zoned partially residen-
tial and partially commer-
cial. The school comes with
two gyms, a cafeteria and
kitchen, along with the one-
story school building.
At a Sept. 3 work ses-
sion, members of the Sunset
Empire Park and Recreation
District Board of Directors
considered the possibility of
pursuing a purchase of all or
part of the property.
The district is picking
up a discussion after voters
rejected a $20 million bond
proposal to expand the rec
center failed at the polls in
November, with almost two-
thirds of the voters opposing
the measure.
Board members con-
sidered factors like timing,
building costs and unan-
swered questions in the
bond’s lack of success.
The bond would have
funded the expansion of
the aquatic facility and pro-
vided indoor recreation
space at the Sunset Pool.
After the meeting, the
district’s executive director
Skyler Archibald said he is
looking for potential devel-
opers to collaborate with on
the purchase of the school
property as there may be
commercial interests in the
highway frontage.
“It’s possible that the
right developer would not
have need for some of the
recreation space that is
already available, but a col-
laboration could be mutu-
ally benefi cial,” Archibald
said.
Cannon Beach to purchase former elementary school
By R.J. MARX
Seaside Signal
CANNON BEACH —
After years of expressing
interest, committee meet-
ings and council discus-
sions, the city is close to a
$400,000 deal to purchase
the old Cannon Beach Ele-
mentary School from the
Seaside School District.
“We have a sales agree-
ment drawn up by our legal
counsel, and now it’s in the
hands of the Cannon Beach
city manager,” Sheila Roley,
the school superintendent,
said Sept. 10.
City Manager Bruce St.
Denis confi rmed the City
Council and school board
have authorized staff to enter
negotiations to develop a con-
tract for the purchase. “Right
now the intent is to acquire
the property,” he said.
The Beaver Street prop-
erty became vacant in 2013
after the school district
closed the school because of
tsunami fears.
The city owns land all
around it, St. Denis said, and
the property holds a high
value from a historical stand-
point. “There’s defi nitely a
sentimental tie to the city for
the location,” he said.
Cannon Beach Elemen-
tary is one of four schools to
relocate out of the tsunami
inundation zone, includ-
ing Seaside High School,
Broadway Middle School
and Gearhart Elementary
School. Each is being mar-
keted as the school district
prepares a move to a new
campus in Seaside’s South-
east Hills.
Since its closure, res-
idents and offi cials have
expressed interest in pur-
chasing the Cannon Beach
property for a number of
potential uses, including a
community center, museum
or concert venue.
The
Clatsop-Nehalem
Confederated Tribes has
also shown interest in pre-
serving the building as a cul-
tural landmark.
In 2016, the building was
appraised at $450,000, with
an additional estimated need
for interior and exterior ren-
ovations of $371,000. While
most of the classrooms
in the 1950s-era building
Retiring: Longtime mail
carrier plans to ‘rock,
roll, and have a ball’
Continued from Page A1
Gramson said he’s had
an uneventful career.
He’s never been bit-
ten or harassed by a dog.
And he’s not one to carry
biscuits.
No particular deliv-
ery or event stands out in
his mind as unique. He
seems to take for granted
his incredible memory
for people, and ability
to respond precisely and
accurately to any ques-
tion arising regarding a
particular piece of mail
or package. He appears
to be a master of the sort
of detail that so easily slip
through the cracks when
you’re talking about a
postal operation han-
dling every week approx-
imately 40,000 letters and
about 260,000 packages.
Gramson declined to
embellish on his “Rock
and Roll, Have a Ball”
plans moving forward. The
Post Master said Gramson
received a plaque honoring
his years of service. While
friendly, Gramson appears
to be a man of few words.
Responding to a barrage
of questions from this
reporter, he kept working,
slotting outgoing mail he’d
picked up along his route.
The Seaside post
offi ce is always looking
for good people. Con-
tact Post Master Tony
Simms if you care to take
a crack at fi lling Mitch
Gramson’s shoes.
R.J. Marx
Cannon Beach Elementary School, closed in 2013, could be sold to the city of Cannon Beach.
would be unusable, an engi-
neering report concluded the
gym was considered in good
condition.
As the school remained
vacant, the city continued
to maintain interest in the
property, inspired by a sur-
vey showing 77% of res-
idents believe developing
the school into a community
center is a priority.
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Last fall, the Cannon
Beach History Center &
Museum offered $400,000 for
the school, but later delayed
their purchase decision.
That’s when the city
stepped in, St. Denis said,
ultimately submitting a let-
ter of interest to the school
district in mid-August.
The property is zoned
institutional, which allows
city functions, schools or
churches, but not homes,
condominiums or commer-
cial development, he said.
What will ultimately be
located in the space remains
to be determined.
“We’re absolutely con-
sidering an interpretive or
event center,” St. Denis said.
“We have a lot of hotels that
are not large enough to have
a room that would allow
them to have meetings.”
Whether the buildings
will be saved remains a mat-
ter of discussion.
“While we may be able to
use the buildings later on, it’s
our intent to move forward
either way,” St. Denis said.
“It may turn out the buildings
are too expensive to rehab.
It doesn’t mean we did the
wrong thing. If we can make
use of the buildings that are
on the site, that would be a
great benefi t. I think the com-
munity’s very excited about
the possibility. ”
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