Dayton Independent School District finalized the purchase of the old Advertiser Printers, Inc. building on Jan. 27 and they are currently discussing what to do with the space.
The property acquisition is part of a much larger effort by the school district to expand and improve its campus by buying up land parcels around Lincoln Elementary School, Dayton High School and the district’s administrative building.
At a school board meeting on Jan. 26, many board members expressed relief on the closing of the deal. One council member even referred to the property as the district’s “white whale.”
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is create one big campus,” said Ron Kinmon, Director of Student Services, after the meeting.
The building is situated awkwardly on Clay St. between Lincoln Elementary and Dayton High School. The building originally belonged to Advertiser Printers, Inc. (API), a commercial printing company who acquired the building in 1996.
API’s operations dwindled over the years as its business shrank to the point that it only operated in a portion of the complex. API sold the property in 2019 to Hilton Capital Group, LLC., a real estate brokerage company, which leased it out to a variety of industrial tenants.
Over time the building fell into neglect and disrepair. The district purchased the building for $725,000 and has already begun planning to demolish the structure.
In addition, the district has set its eyes on three neighboring apartment buildings, which, like the former API building, fragment the area into discrete zones of commercial, educational and residential property. All but one of the apartment units are empty. Kinmon claimed that the district had entered into a verbal contract with the managers to buy up the properties once the final tenant leaves, adding that he hoped to have everything finalized by May.
The tenant could not be contacted for comment.
“Acquiring the properties has been a long, never-ending journey,” Jay Brewer, Superintendent of Dayton Independent Schools, told LINK nky shortly after the meeting.
He also described the ambitions the district had for the potentially unified campus.
“We have more property to acquire,” Brewer said. “And then at that point, we’ll sit down with the architects and see what we’ve got. But I don’t think it’s a secret that we’ve got an aging football field that’s not on our campus. It would be nice to do some kind of sports complex.”
No formal plans for construction or development have been made.
When asked about why it took so long to acquire the property around the building, Brewer responded that it was a combination of finding enough funding, negotiating with tenants in the surrounding residential buildings and getting all of the necessary affairs in order.
According to the district’s January financial report, the district has expended $6,826,944.31, or 57%, of its allotted $11,934,914 budget for the fiscal year, which ends on June 30.
The next Dayton School Board meeting will take place on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. at 200 Clay St. in Dayton.