Willson-Beardshear Set for Jan. 18 Auction

Ames Community Schools will auction Willson-Beardshear to the highest bidder 9 a.m. Jan. 18, at the Crawford Educational Services Center.

Ames School Board members informally decided to auction the building at 900 Carroll Ave. in December. During the meeting, board members said that ACPC, a preschool and daycare had expressed an interest in the former school.

The building will be auctioned as is and with its current zoning.

The starting bid for the 2.53 acre site and building has been set at $170,000.

The district began the process of auctioning and selling off its unused property and sites after voters approved a $55 million bond project to construct three new elementary schools and renovate two others.

The district had been using Willson-Beardshear to house its technology department and isn't part of the building project.

All interested bidders have until 4:30 p.m. Jan. 17 to register for the auction. Registration includes providing a letter from the bidders' financial institutions proving they have funds available.

This will be the third sale of land by the school district in recent months. The district has auctioned off its former middle school as well as undeveloped land in the Somerset neighborhood once marked for an elementary school.

Shuttered Roosevelt Elementary School is also on the possible “for sale” list. That school closed in 2005, but is on the National Registry of Historic Places and some community members want to save the building.

Area residents have also urged School Board and Ames City Council members to preserve at least part of the land surrounding the school and turn it into a park.

Luke Deardorff, a board member who sits on the board's real estate liquidation committee, had recommended turning some of the green space into a park and auctioning the rest, but the majority of the board informally decided to delay the recommended sale at its last regular meeting.

However the possible sale of Roosevelt came up again at the school board's recent real estate liquidation committee meeting, and board members present said they would support selling Roosevelt to Dean Jensen, a real estate developer, according to an article in the Ames Tribune.

According to the Tribune story, Jensen wants to convert the building into condominiums and the playground area north of the building into green space. The school board will discuss this sale at a later date.

To participate in the Willson-Beardshear auction: Registration must be completed by 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan.17, at the District Business Office, 415 Stanton Ave., Ames. The winning bidder will receive an “Offer to Buy Real Estate” draft sales contract. The sale would become final after a public hearing and board approval.