(Seguin) — The Mary B. Erskine campus is one step closer to getting new ownership. The Seguin ISD sold the historic campus, on East College Street, to a private developer a few years ago.
It has sat idle ever since. Now, the Guadalupe Appraisal District is looking to purchase the building and the surrounding land for $1.8 million — bringing it back into public ownership.
The Seguin City Council approved the proposed deal during its meeting on Tuesday.
The property is currently under contract, but Chief Appraiser Peter Snaddon says the appraisal district still needs approval from most of the taxing entities it serves. Snaddon says they’ve outgrown their current space on North Austin Street and need room to grow.
“We do a lot more than appraising, as I’ve been indicating to many. We administered over 87,000 active tax exemptions annually. We have somewhere over 90,000 taxpayer records that we have to keep,” said Snaddon.
Snaddon says rapid growth in the area has made expansion a top priority for the appraisal district. He says that growth shows no signs of slowing down in Guadalupe County.
“We decided to do a 20-year strategic plan on how to address this (need). Estimations are that we’re going to get close to (a) 300,000 (county population) in that 20-year period. So, we looked at facility space, technology, staffing, of course public service needs and training,” said Snaddon.
The appraisal district initially explored expanding its existing site, but that changed after evaluating the Mary B. property. Snaddon says the building’s structure is still in great shape.
“Initially I didn’t want it. Somebody had mentioned it to me early in the summer last year and I said no thanks – a 1914 (building), I don’t want to get involved with that. But then I went over and took a look — probably in September or October time frame…and I noticed that they had done a lot of work inside. The fire sprinkler system and everything else is in there. Some of the major ticket items were already taken care of. So, it became a viable option that I brought to my board,” said Snaddon.
The appraisal district would purchase the entire city block, including the building and surrounding land. While there are no immediate plans for the undeveloped portions, Snaddon says they want to have a say in how that land is used. They also want to preserve access for those who currently use the space for recreation.
“We are looking at purchasing the entire four-acre tract for the purpose of control. There was some discussion about purchasing just roughly three-acres with these structures and leave the one acre to the developer. But the thought was, we didn’t know what they would do. We wanted to make sure we had control,” said Snaddon.
The total purchase price is actually lower than what the district had projected for expansion at its current site. However, renovation costs will be higher due to the scale of the Mary B. project, but Snaddon says this location will allow them to grow and to better serve taxpayers.
“Site acquisition is just short of $1.9 million probably will cost for the renovation is $8.4 (million) for a grand total just south of $10.3 million. It’s based off 20 years, because we don’t levy a tax. We can’t issue bonds. We’re funded by our tax entities that we serve. So, looking at that, everybody has an equal (portion) relative to their levy. It’s roughly about a 16.3 percent increase that we’re looking at. As a percentage of total levy, it’s less than two-tenths of a percentage point overall. The first payment wouldn’t be until the tax year 2027,” said Snaddon.
Snaddon again stressed that the appraisal district does not levy taxes. It is funded solely by the taxing entities it serves. He told the council that the financial impact on those entities, including the city of Seguin, would be minimal compared to their overall budgets.
“We are looking at the annual funding — on top of our budget of course — of about $55,000 or $56,000 annually for you all. Again, if you break it down into what a taxable value is, you guys have taxable value and it’s less than one-tenth of a percent of a cent. It’s very minimal for you guys annually,” said Snaddon.
Mayor Donna Dodgen raised a key concern. She noted that Mary B. is part of the city’s first-ever TIRZ, or Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone. The TIRZ is a tool to spur investment in targeted areas, including much of downtown area. If the appraisal district purchases the property, it would be removed from the TIRZ rolls, reducing future revenue for the TIRZ.
“I would be remiss if we didn’t talk about how Mary B was added to our first TIRZ, that we established for helping a certain area — particularly our downtown and surrounding area. So, this building becoming an (appraisal district) facility would take it off of that TIRZ roll, which would be quite a large piece of that. So, in doing that, we’ve asked the county to partner with us in the TIRZ to help compensate or to help alleviate some of that loss, which could be up to $1 million,” said Dodgen.
Dodgen also asked about the gym and cafeteria on the site. Snaddon says the gym is currently functional, and the kitchen space could be renovated. Dodgen suggested these amenities could be used by the public through future partnerships. Snaddon agreed and said the appraisal district’s board of directors supports making those spaces available for public use.
“They don’t want them just sitting there. They want to make sure that once we get to the point where we’re in the facility, that we definitely address that (and) make it functional for taxing units as well as possibly anybody (that’s wants to use it). I know a few of our board members are in (youth sports leagues) and they said basketball (teams) would love to have that gym — just to come and have the young kids practice and stuff,” said Snaddon.
The Seguin City Council unanimously approved the resolution in support of the purchase. Tuesday’s presentation was the appraisal district’s 10th formal request for approval — and support has been strong so far. Snaddon says they still need to present to just over half of the remaining entities. The deal requires approval from 75-percent of the eligible taxing entities to move forward.
The Mary B. Erskine campus holds a rich legacy in Seguin’s public education history. Over the years, it has served as a high school, an elementary school, a sixth-grade center, and briefly as the district’s Health Science Academy before being closed and later sold.