Wayne School Board Quietly Sells 25-Acre Parcel for $1 Million

2 minutes reading

WAYNE — A pristine piece of land on Valley Road has returned to private ownership for the first time in more than 50 years after the state’s education department agreed to sell it to a group of investors.

At their most recent meeting, the trustees approved the sale of the 9.9-acre parcel for $1 million, or $4,900 less than its appraised value.

To passing motorists and pedestrians, the overgrown terrain may appear to be nothing more than a clump of trees.

But in December 1971, when township voters approved a $300,000 referendum to acquire the property, it represented the future of the K-12 district. According to a newspaper article published at the time, officials planned to build an elementary school there to “lighten the burden” on Randall Carter School, which was bracing for a new housing development on French Hill Road.

The story continues below the photo gallery.

“Yesterday’s action at the ballot box appears to have instilled confidence in the municipality’s education system to move forward with plans to modernize primary schools,” the article said.

Officials did not respond to a question about the upcoming sale on Tuesday.

This was not discussed at the meeting, but a resolution passed by the board states that the location is “no longer needed for school purposes.”

This week, it was unclear what the buyers plan to do with the property, which is zoned for single-family homes. They are identified in the resolution as Bharat Kanani, Jenish Kanani and Akash Sheladia.

The location, known as the Schinman area after the late Pauline and Edward Schinman, a wealthy couple who once owned it, is located on the west side of Valley Road, approximately 200 yards south of Judith Place.

No school was ever built there, because in the late 1970s the township’s population fell by 5.4%, from 49,141 to 46,474. And the population had not recovered by 1990, when census takers counted 47,025.

Instead of opening a new school, the district closed several existing schools.

Mountain View School closed at the end of the 1975 school year, followed by Preakness School a year later. Less than a decade later, officials closed James Fallon School — it reopened in September 2000 — and the original Anthony Wayne Middle School, which is now part of a senior housing complex.

The school board resolution states that the district attempted to sell the Schinman property through a public auction, but no one submitted a bid for it.

EDUCATION COUNCIL: Multimillion-dollar Wayne preschool project back on track after legal dispute

Under state law, the county is allowed to sell real estate through negotiations with an interested party if no one makes a bid at the sale.

The trustees initially approved the property transaction in March 2022. A resolution passed at the time stated that proceeds from the sale would be placed in a capital reserve for amenity projects.

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email address: [email protected]

watexr eu

Wayne School Board Quietly Sells 25-Acre Parcel for $1 Million

2 minutes reading

Recent Posts

Social Media

Advertisement