District aims to shed school property

Brandon School officials are now seeking buyers for two parcels of district-owned property.
The sale includes a 23-acre section of property along Oakwood Road, just north of Leece Road, purchased with bond extension dollars in December 2006 for the construction of the new Oakwood Elementary School. Purchased at a cost of $500,000 from Tucker Investment Co. LLC, the acreage was ultimately not utilized by the district when a 75-acre parcel near Oakwood and Hadley roads was purchased in May 2007.
The property includes some wetlands and borders private homes. The land also includes an easement to Oakwood Road purchased by the school in the deal. During the deliberation of the Leece-Oakwood property in late 2006, questions regarding the safety for school buses turning into the parcel arose. Subsequently, a study was conducted by Oakland County and Brandon Township deeming the curves safe for school buses to turn into the property.
In addition, the district is also shedding the now vacant Sherman Lifelong Learning Center, 300 Sherman Court. The 11,000 square-foot building on 2.43 acres in the Village of Ortonville is a 50-year-old converted nursing home facility purchased by the district in the mid-1990s. The building was home to the CHOICES Alternative Education and the early childhood Pre-Kindergarten, which were moved to H.T. Burt Elementary School during the summer.
Rich Mahoney, of Real Estate One Professionals of Brandon Township, is listing the properties for the school district.
The 23-acre parcel, zoned residential, is currently offered at $500,000, and the Sherman Lifelong Learning Center, zoned for commercial use, is at $600,000. Both properties are available.
‘The Oakwood property would be ideal for a small subdivision or agricultural, while the Sherman building could work as a children’s day care facility or remodeled again for adult care,? said Mahoney.