Downey : Sale of Vacant Unsworth School Site Canceled Again

The Downey Unified School District’s plan to sell a vacant site to raise money to refurbish Downey High School has fallen through, officials said this week.

The district had a preliminary agreement to sell the 10.5-acre Edith Unsworth School site to developer Lewis Homes for about $8 million. But the home builder, citing a slumping housing market, asked the district to renegotiate the sale price.

District officials declined because they want to receive at least $8 million for the site, Supt. Edward A. Sussman said. The district hopes to sell the property once the real estate market improves.

District officials also will be examining the possibility of selling about 10 acres of the 22-acre Columbus High School campus to raise the $6 million needed to refurbish Downey High and pay for other district improvements, Sussman said.

It was the second time a sale of the Unsworth site fell through. In 1989, the district agreed to sell the property for $9.1 million to another developer, who also wanted to build homes. But the developer clashed with city planners, who were concerned about the high density and narrow streets of the proposed project. The real estate market then softened and the developer canceled the agreement with the school district last year.