No Land Deal for Rolesville School
A controversial deal for land in Rolesville for a planned middle school is dead, a Wake County school system administrator said Wednesday.
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The district wanted to purchase 45 acres off Burlington Mills Road for the school and had offered $3.5 million for the site, or about $75,000 an acre. But two independent appraisals valued the land at between $48,000 and $64,000 an acre.
Wake County commissioners refused to approve the purchase at the $3.5 million price, and on Tuesday, commissioners voted to spend up to $2.6 million for the land, or about $56,000 an acre.
Don Haydon, chief facilities and operations officer for the school district, said Wednesday that the property owner refused to lower the sale price, so the deal was off.
"Our staff attempted to get the seller to reduce its price several times during the course of this attempted purchase – all to no avail. The seller has not wavered in its demand," Haydon said.
District officials will begin searching for a new site in Rolesville for the middle school, he said, adding that starting over will likely delay construction and the 2010 opening date by a year.
The delay could also add $2 million to construction costs because of inflation, he said.
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