FLINT, Mich. — The Michigan School for the Deaf campus in Flint would become home to Flint Powers Catholic High School and a new building to serve deaf students would be constructed on the site in a $36 million deal now under consideration, according to The Flint Journal.
Lurvey White Ventures would renovate Fay Hall as a new home for the Catholic high school and also construct the new center for deaf students in time for the 2012-2013 school year, developer Ridgway White told The Journal.
White is co-owner of Lurvey White, which received approval from state lawmakers Friday to purchase the land from the state for $1.3 million. He said that part of the land will be leased back to the Michigan School for the Deaf facility at $2 million annually under a 20-year lease stipulating the site must be used for education, The Journal reported.
White said he and Lurvey will profit from the deal but would not say how much, The Journal reported.
Area officials said the $36 million construction and renovation projects are the largest investment in the community in recent years, according to The Journal.
“I'm grateful to God that this hurdle has been crossed,” Powers Principal Tom Furnas told The Journal. The school has been looking for a new site for years, and a deal to move into a former GM facility in Grand Blanc Township fell through in February, The Journal reported.
SOURCE:
The Flint Journal, “Michigan
School for the Deaf sale would bring one of biggest Flint developments in
recent history,” Dec. 4, 2010
FURTHER READING:
Michigan Education Digest, “State may sell, then lease back,
School for the Deaf site,” Sept. 28, 2010
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