Bid for Iowa City's Roosevelt Elementary way below appraised value

IOWA CITY – The Iowa City school district received just one bid for the on-the-market Roosevelt Elementary School, and it was significantly less than what the district wants for the property.

The $201,595 bid, from developer Place Partners LLC in Iowa City, is well below the $770,000 appraisal the district received for the property, and district officials felt the appraisal was too low.

“I think you can probably make an appropriate inference from that,” Superintendent Stephen Murley said Thursday of his reaction to the $201,000 bid.

Murley said he will make a recommendation, which he had not yet formulated, to the school board for its consideration at a May 15 meeting. The board could accept the bid, decide to try to sell the property using a real estate agent or keep the property, although it to this point has shown no interest in the latter option.

The district is closing the school, 611 Greenwood Dr., at the end of this school year and replacing it with Borlaug Elementary a few miles to the west.

The board earlier this year decided to take a nontraditional route in selling the property by going with the bid process. That allowed it to place restrictions on what could be done with the property after it is sold.

Residents of the neighborhood surrounding Roosevelt were mostly opposed to closing the school and then, after that decision was made, fought to keep it from being developed into apartments or commercial or retail uses.

In the bid documents, the board said it could be used for offices and educational, religious and health purposes.

Murley said Place Partners wants to locate a community art space at the school site, which would align with the desires of neighbors.

Local developer Al Wells of Place Partners did not immediately return a phone message left for him late Thursday afternoon.