City, Elmwood Charter School, agree on sale of School 36

Elmwood Village Charter School expects to sign a contract with the city by mid May to purchase the former School 36 on Days Park for $540,000 to provide additional space for the charter school which opened at 124 Elmwood Ave. in 2005.

The Buffalo Common Council voted March 16 to approve the sale. A competing purchase offer for $800,000 was submitted by Savarino Development which was interested in redeveloping the School 36 building for another charter school still in the start-up stage.

The sale is contingent on environmental testing expected to be completed by March 31, said Elizabeth Evans, president of Elmwood Charter's board of directors. She expressed hope that the closing will occur by mid June.

Plans call for the building to house the school's lower grades, with an increase in enrollment of about 25 children in each of the next few years, as well the addition of seventh and eighth grades. The school now has an enrollment of 175 in kindergarten through sixth grade.

The school has sufficient funds, including an $88,000 state grant, to cover the $540,000 sale price, but money will have to be borrowed for renovations, Liz Evans said. Replacement of aging boilers are the top priority for the renovation, she added.

The Allentown Association and the Days Park Block Club supported the sale of the building to Elmwood School. Many residents expressed their support in letters, phone calls and emails.

"We were all greatly appreciative for the support from the community, Days Park and Allentown. It was eye opening in a wonderful way," Liz Evans said.

The school's charter is up next January and "we will be submitting an application for renewal before the end of June," she added.

School 36, built in 1957 as a Buffalo public school, closed in June 2009. It is leasedfor the current school year to Tapestry Charter School which is using it for its high school until a new building is completed on Great Arrow Ave.