Old BMHS sold for condos and commercial units

The Municipality of Barrington finalized a deal with K.B. Anthony Properties Ltd. at last Tuesday night’s (Nov. 14) council session.

Proprietor Ken Anthony is purchasing the property, excluding the athletic complex area, for $25,001.

“I think it was a steal of a buy,� said Anthony, who is starting work immediately by demolishing the junior high and converting the senior high section into condominiums.

“The building (senior high) is solid as a rock,� said Anthony. “All the infrastructure is there so it’s more or less cosmetics.�

That section of the school has also been given a clean bill of health. “There are no environmental concerns there,� said Anthony, who has already started to build a demo suite.

Phase I of the project will include 12 ground floor units, “reasonably priced,� with the possibility of 12 more in Phase II.

“I think there’s a need for housing in the area,� said Anthony. “We’ll see what happens.�

Anthony will also be demolishing the annex building, once ownership is received in a few months.

Originally, the Tri-County District School Board was going to retain that section of property for a gas-filling depot, but ended up trading it for another piece of municipal property adjacent to the new BMHS in Oak Park.

The property where the junior high and annex are located will be developed commercially, said Anthony.

“I’m trying for a big box. I don’t know whether I’ll get it or not,� he said.

The municipality took ownership of the property in June. Two requests for proposals were made.

The first call attracted two bids but didn’t exclude the track and field area. Anthony was the only bidder in the second call, which excluded the field area.