(Seguin) — The Seguin ISD is on its way to negotiating the sale of the Mary B. Erskine campus for a total $1.4 million.
The school board Tuesday night adopted a resolution giving Superintendent Matthew Gutierrez the ability to negotiate and execute a sales agreement with Intrinsic Ventures Inc. The company, which is reportedly based in Oregon, earned the right to purchase the building after coming in with the highest sealed bid for the campus located at 216 E. College St. The other four bids fell well below the $1.4 million mark – ranging in prices of $205,000 to $751,000. Representing the Pacific Northwest company were Mitchell Tevis and Broker Danika Thomas. Both shared the company’s excitement in coming to Seguin.
Although they weren’t ready to talk about the specifics for the property until the sale is final, they did confirm that the historic property would be considered a housing project with limitless ideas for the utilization of other space.
Dr. Gutierrez says the district is excited about this latest deal, which will bring new life to the vacant building – a building that sits near downtown Seguin.
“We are excited about the opportunity to finalize a sale of Mary B. Erskine. It is our last remaining vacant campus. As you all know over the last several years, we have sold Juan Seguin and Burges and this is the last vacant campus but what we are really excited about is with this property specifically is what it is going to do for the community, for Seguin and downtown. The company that is looking at this building – their expertise is taking on historical structures or older buildings and making them into community hubs whether it’s office space, whether it’s living, they really come up with some innovative ideas and I think it will be a great opportunity for Seguin,” said Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez says this sale will further preserve the history and integrity of Mary B. He says the company has expertise in this area and has recently taken on a project where it has revitalized an old church building in Austin.
“There’s a lot of history with this building and with this company that would come in, they would maintain that structural integrity and that’s their expertise is maintaining that structural integrity that makes the architecture so unique and really focus on the interior and the property itself,” said Gutierrez.
Dr. Gutierrez says the overall winning bid of $1.4 million makes things even more beneficial for the Seguin ISD and for the entire community.
“The price is certainly a huge and significant factor. As many of you all realize, we have taken on additional, unexpected expenditures over the last several years so $1.4 million would be a great benefit for the Seguin ISD because of COVID and the impact that it has had on us. I can’t say specifically what those dollars would be used for, but they would certainly go a long way,” said Gutierrez.
As mentioned, this is the final vacant building that the school district has available for sale. Dr. Gutierrez says the transitions that have been put into place at the other former school buildings only add confidence to the success of this latest deal.
“I really do believe that the community has really watched closely what has happening to those facilities with the Backyard at Burges, with the Spirit of Joy Church at Juan Seguin and so I believe that people have faith in what we are doing as a school system and I think there is also a sense of hope for the future as well seeing what those previous projects have done and what could happen in the future with Mary B. Erskine, said Gutierrez.
Tuesday night’s approval for the four-acre property gives Dr. Gutierrez the ability to enter into negotiations immediately. District officials say they hope to finalize the deal as soon as possible.