W.L. Perry Associates has decided to withdraw its offer to buy a Grand Rapids elementary school for $250,000 and covert it into professional offices following unsuccessful negotiations with Grand Rapids Public Schools.
"We are no longer pursuing the school," Kevin Eidson, president and lead architect W.L. Perry Associates told M Live Media. "We were unable to workout a deal."
The school board's Finance Committee recommended the approval of the purchase of the school contingent upon finalizing two issues: the district's requirement for the right of first refusal if the firm was to sell the property in a 45-day window, and an easement for a cell tower on site.
The teams were unable to agree on those aspects of the deal, which resulted in the offer being withdrawn.
The district has been including a "right of first refusal" clause in all its recent property deals, in case at any time a third party offers to purchase the property, according to M Live.com.
The language has been included in the wake of a prior deal with Bruce Michael. The company purchased the district’s Lexington, Eastern and Oakdale schools for $1.6 million and sold them to the charter school group National Heritage Academies.
