PEORIA — The old Greeley School may finally be off the auction block.
Artist Jonathon Romain submitted the only bid, $30,000, for the long-shuttered school building at 919 NE Jefferson Ave.
Romain plans to relocate his current studio from 1919 N. Sheridan Road to Greeley, as well as rent studio space to other artists.
“It’s a way to leverage space for artists who need space in a community that’s starving for opportunities other than what they already have,” Romain said.
But the city must grant approval to rezone the property from residential to special use before the school district can set a closing date, according to Peoria Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Mick Willis.
The school district had originally set a minimum bid of $120,000 for Greeley and an adjacent lot. The district also owns six lots near Greeley which were not included in Romain’s bid.
Greeley has been vacant since 2011. The last attempt to sell the building fell through in 2014 when the Peoria Housing Authority shelved a project to rehabilitate Greeley to house low-income families with children. The plan also included an on-site day care center, which would have disrupted a federal halfway house across the street where some residents are prohibited by law from living within 500 feet of a school or park.
Pam Adams can be reached at 686-3245 or padams@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @padamspam.
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