By Janine Davis Record Staff Writer The Warren County R-III School District is closing this week on property that may one day be the site of a new school. School officials said the district will pay $380,120 for 29 acres located north of Ash Road in Warrenton to accommodate a new elementary school. The property acquisition was unanimously approved by the school board at its May 8 meeting. The scheduled closing date for the purchase is set for Thursday, May 15. “This project is north of town, near the intersection of Ash Road, so it will give us access off of Highway 47,” R-III Superintendent Jim Chandler told the board last Thursday night. “The footprint of the acreage would fit well for a future elementary school.” The property encompasses Lots 2 and 3 of North Field Place near heavily populated subdivisions off of North Highway 47. “When I first came here, one of the first conversations I had was about growth to date and on the horizon,” Chandler said. “The district has been looking for several years at the possibility of purchasing real estate in case we need to build another school.” Chandler said leaders had looked at other properties during the ongoing discussions. “This year we looked at several more properties, and an opportunity came forward that we feel meets the district’s needs very well,” he said. “It’s in a good location north of town where there’s a good amount of growth.” R-III Director of Finance Tony Chance told the board the deal was very attractive from all perspectives. “The total cost for this particular piece of property is a little over $380,000 for 29.24 acres,” he reported. “The appraised price is $497,700 for a difference of $117,000, so we’re getting it well under market value.” The cost per acre is $13,000. Chandler said the capital project funds for the purchase are already in Fund 4, set aside for future capital projects including land acquisition. In 2010 the Wright City R-II School District made a similar land purchase. The district bought 85 acres south of Interstate 70 for future expansion, taking advantage of attractive real estate prices and interest rates.
R-III buys land for future school
