Sale of Limekiln Simmons on Hold

It could be another year before Hatboro-Horsham School District sells the former Limekiln Simmons School.

The board, this week, approved another one-year extension of its option agreement with Horsham Township. The district has had an option agreement since 1992 with Horsham that would give the township the "right of first refusal" for the property.

The Horsham Township Council approved a similar option agreement extension during Wednesday night's meeting. 

"Those discussions are ongoing with the school district," Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker said, adding that both parties are seeking an "option that would benefit the school district and the township the best."

With the latest option agreement extension, it will be in effect through Aug. 17, 2014, or until either party gives notice of its termination.

The likelihood of Horsham acquiring the property is slim, according to Walker, who said the township had initially eyed it for open space, to house a township building, a police station or a library. Since the initial option agreement, Walker noted that the township has succeeded in all of those avenues. 

to gather relevant property information, and, eventually set a "value" for the 10.5-acre parcel. During Monday's school board meeting, Bob Reichert, the district's director of business affairs, said an asking price still had not been set.

"We're still in the process," Reichert said, adding that officials are "doing market research to determine a value for the property."

The former Limekiln Simmons School had been used to house the district's special education offices and pre-school until 2011 when the roof started leaking. 

Reichert said the district and the township would "work together" to find a new owner that would be beneficial for both the district and the township. The land is zoned residential, Reichert said.

Money generated from the sale of the property would be added to the district's reserve funds, Reichert said.