Buena Park : City Might Buy Portion of Site of Closed School
City officials are considering buying at least part of the site of the closed Sullivan School and turning it into a cultural arts center.
The city has leased most of the school’s facilities for the last five years. The Head Start program, Children’s Theatre, Girls Club, regional occupational program and the Recreation Department’s administration offices are among those using classrooms in the school, which closed due to declining enrollment.
City officials say they cannot afford to purchase the entire 8.5-acre site, which at last appraisal was valued at $2.7 million, but hope to be able to buy the center portion of the lot, according to Joan Evans, recreation supervisor.
A portion of the property that fronts on Beach Boulevard could be developed for commercial use and the back lot could be developed for residential use, Evans said, leaving the center portion containing the school buildings intact.
Neither the city nor the school district expects to make any improvements to the school, said Pat Pebley, a district spokeswoman, due to the district’s decision to sell the school after its lease expires June 30.
The purchase proposal is to be considered by the city’s Fine Arts Commission at its next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 19.
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