Deal: Offers on WHS still active

By Scott Nicholson

nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

Recent land-use regulations adopted by the Town of Boone have not affected offers to buy the existing Watauga High School property.

According to Watauga County commission Chairman Jim Deal, all the development companies that originally made offers or inquiries on the property are still in contact with the county about the property, even after the commissioners adopted a plan in July to keep the school for several more years.

Deal said none of the companies had withdrawn their offers, even though the board set an asking price of $36 million, about 10 percent higher than the best written offer of $33 million.

“From our perspective, the (ordinance) changes have not had a serious impact,” Deal said, referring to the town’s adoption of zoning ordinances regulating large-scale “big box” retail stores and limiting development on designated steep slopes.

The “big box” ordinance was adopted in August and limits the size of new stores to 150,000 square feet. The ordinance, which would apply to any new retail construction on the current high school property, would require prospective retailers to provide an independent economic and community impact analysis. That analysis would measure the impact on surrounding traffic, public services and infrastructure, jobs and the effect of competition on existing businesses.

The steep-slope ordinance, passed on Monday, imposes rules on a case-by-case basis for development on slopes of 30 percent or greater. Such development would also face tougher erosion, grading and storm water control requirements and be subject to view-shed limitations.

Deal, an attorney, said the steep-slope rules wouldn’t apply to the current high school property because most of the usable land there is already flat and graded. A contingent of town leaders toured a mixed-use development in Huntington last week that could serve as a model for development at the high school.

In May, the town council voted to rezone the high school property from R-3 Residential to B-3 General Business, allowing more dense commercial development. The 75-acre property is in a designated “primary growth” area adjoining two roadways.

Deal said it’s unlikely any developer will purchase the current school property until the new high school is nearly complete.

Under terms adopted by the commissioners in July, the asking price is $36 million, with the developer paying a non-refundable deposit of $10 million.

During that July 25 meeting, the commissioners and school board announced plans to build a new high school on 85 acres in Perkinsville, a process that could take three or four years. In the meantime, the county will still own the current school, thereby saving rent. Some of the written purchase offers would have allowed the county to lease the school building until a new facility was complete.

Others wanted the county to pay property taxes while the school was still in use.

“This way, we don’t have to pay rent and we don’t have to pay property taxes,” Deal said.

At least five formal offers were received by the school board, the highest having a baseline price of $33 million. However, the offers varied widely on issues of rent and property taxes, making a straight comparison difficult.

The issue became moot when the commissioners set the $36 million asking price and stated the current property wouldn’t be sold until a new facility opened.

Deal said the current property will be transferred from the school board to the county, and the county is hoping to get a final survey on the 85-acre Perkinsville site this week.

The survey will help address issues such as the location of a possible graveyard on the site and how the buildings and roads can best be arranged. The school will cost an estimated $65 million, with up to $7 million estimated for land purchases, design fees and grading.