Varied plans are submitted for old school

BEVERLY -- In theory, the future of the former Edwards Elementary School could rest on $1,000.

On paper, that's the difference between the top two bidders who seek to buy the 91-year-old school. On one side is Symes Development LLC, which seeks to build 28 luxury condominiums at the site, and has bid $1.801 million for the 42,000-square-foot building. On the other is Cape Ann Waldorf School, which wants to move from its Beverly Farms location to the Edwards and weighed in just below Symes, at $1.8 million.

Three other residential plans also were submitted, but were considerably less than the top two bids. These were by Goldberg Properties, for $1.2 million; RSJ Group, $1 million; and Mitchell Properties, $730,000.

Mayor William Scanlon Jr. said he would name the winning bidder shortly after June 18, when he receives a recommendation from an evaluation committee studying the proposals. Scanlon said he planned to follow the committee's recommendation, and said he is not participating in its evaluation.

''I'm looking to hear what the evaluation committee does with the thing, and I'm really staying away from the thing. I don't want to influence any of the deliberations," he said.

According to Scanlon, the evaluation committee was formed by the city's director of planning and development, Tina Cassidy. In addition to Cassidy, other committee members are residents Larry Smith, Pamela McGrath, Neiland Douglas, and Wes Slate. Cassidy said the bids would be evaluated on several categories, including the organization's ability to complete the proposal, experience with similar projects, references, development team, and investment, and the project's impact on the neighborhood.

While Cassidy said the bids would be weighed evenly by criteria categories, she did not discount the possibility that the winning bid would come down to dollars and cents. ''If we find ourselves in a situation where two bidders who were evaluated came out with the same set of scores, prices could be used to distinguish between them," she said.

The decision will come after a year of discussion about the future of the property, which closed as a Beverly elementary school in 2002. Since then, it has been used as a preschool by the city, and also rented to Salem's Carlton School.

In March, the City Council rezoned the property from high-density residential to central commercial, allowing for a developer to build more than the previously allowed 16 units. The zoning change also increased the value of the property -- last year an independent appraiser hired by the city set the value of the 1.13 acre site on Rantoul Street at $1 million to $1.3 million.

There are few similarities in the proposals submitted by Symes and the Waldorf school. Symes would build 28 condominiums -- including 15 penthouse units -- with the units expected to be marketed at $325,000 and $385,000. To make room for the penthouses, the building's height would be raised from 40 to 48 feet. Also, 56 parking spaces would cover the school's playground, and the building's auditorium and gym would be razed to create a courtyard. The estimated construction cost is $4.8 million, with a completion date set for January 2006. Symes has estimated that over a 10-year period, residents would pay a total of $1.361 million in property and excise taxes.

The Waldorf plan calls for minimal changes to the exterior of the school and its playground. If selected, Waldorf would move into the building this fall, and add up to $1.49 million in improvements over the next two years.

Most of the money would be spent on creating 30 on-site parking spaces, installing an elevator, repairing the exterior brick walls, installing new interior sprinklers and boilers, and building a new auditorium stage. The school also has offered a payment in lieu of taxes beginning this year if chosen. It is based on enrollment between grades 1 and 8. The projected payments are staggered for the first five years and, depending on enrollment, could range from a minimum of $25,250 in 2004-2005 to a maximum of $125,000 a year when the pupil population reaches 175. Currently there are 97 pupils in grades 1 through 8, and 67 children in kindergarten and nursery school.

Maryellen Mitchell helped organize a rally of 50 people in support of the Waldorf proposal last week. ''We need to fight for our kids and not just development," said Mitchell, who submitted a 380-signature petition to the City Council this spring opposing condominium development in the school.

City Council President Paul Guanci praised the Waldorf School bid but said he preferred condominium development at the Edwards School. "The school is a nice option, but it's still less than half of what we'd get for condos," he said. ''I'm a big fan of condos in Beverly. Condos allow people to get in on the ground floor."