K-8 district may profit from sale of old school
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

FREEHOLD - A local landmark that has been in a state of disrepair for years may be brought back to life in the near future.

The brick building on Bennett Street that was first a school and later housed the town's police department has been vacant for several years since the police moved into new headquarters at the Rug Mill Towers on Jackson Street.

The borough has been trying to sell the Bennett Street building and get it back on the tax rolls. According to Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina, it appears that a contract with a bid of $600,000 from Todd Bernstein is now in attorney review.

If the sale goes through and the building is reused that could be good news for the neighborhood it sits in and for the Freehold Borough School District. The neighborhood would see a dilapidated building fixed up and the school district would get a portion of the proceeds of the sale, according to Bellina.

Bellina said the uses for the building that have been discussed by Bernstein, who presented the highest bid for the structure, are all ones that would be permitted.

Permitted uses include any of the following: a performing arts center; a community arts and activities center including classes or instruction for acting, dancing, martial arts, yoga or visual art; schools or day care centers for children or disadvantaged adults; business or professional offices; and a post office.

The borough issued requests for proposals in the spring. The minimum bid for the building was $600,000, according to Bellina.

Councilman Jaye Sims, who is the Borough Council's liaison to the Freehold Borough Board of Education, mentioned the possible proceeds from the sale of the Bennett Street building at the Dec. 10 meeting of the school board. Sims said the school district could realize $500,000 from the proceeds of the sale of the building.

Bellina said that figure is probably correct and is reflective of an accurate assessment if (he stressed "if") the sale goes through as planned. He said the borough would recoup its expenses (appraisals, engineers, advertising etc.) before giving the school district any money.

Sims said talk of giving the proceeds of the sale of the old Bennett Street School to the school district began in May 2006.

According to Bellina, the 1.35-acre parcel is on an L-shaped corner lot. The building has a 2,700-square-foot finished basement. The property must be developed in accordance with a redevelopment plan the council approved. The historic appearance of the building must be incorporated into any additions.

The 12,180-square-foot structure was built in 1909 as the original Freehold High School. It served as a high school until 1926 when the new high school opened on Broadway.

The Bennett Street School housed elementary school and intermediate school pupils until the late 1960s. Police moved into the building in 1979 and stayed there until the new headquarters in the renovated rug mill opened.