Looking for a quaint little 56,000 square-foot building on three acres on Pittsburgh’s North Side? It could be yours for a minimum bid of $142,500.
That’s the minimum reserve price for the former Mann Elementary School on Shetland Avenue, just one of nine closed schools and 13 vacant land parcels for which the Pittsburgh Public School District is now accepting purchase proposals.
Fourth River Development, which has sold 13 of the district’s properties, including Schenley, Gladstone and Columbus since 2012, is again acting as the agent for the sales and issued a Request for Proposals on Jan. 9.
Principal and Director of Brokerage Pat Morosetti said Pittsburgh is a “buzz market” in real estate right now, but it is still hard to predict how these properties–which range in price from $500 for some small vacant land parcels to the 88,000 square-foot, $1.48 million for the former Fort Pitt Elementary School in Garfield–will do.
“That reserve price is based on a district policy that says the proceeds have to cover the building’s existing debt,” he said. “But when you consider what’s going on in Garfield, $20 per square foot is not undoable with the right use in mind.”
All the properties have pros and cons, he said, based on how old they are, how long they’ve been closed, utility cost and hazmat cost estimates, whether or not they’d be renovated, and location.
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