No buyers for school property

An auction on March 28 did not result in a buyer for the Upattinas School. The property is listed for $450,000.

UPPER UWCHLAN » A real estate company is continuing its efforts to sell the Upattinas School property after an auction last week did not result in a buyer.

Upattinas, an alternative to public school, shut its doors last year due to a lack of funding, according to school officials.

The five-building school at 429 Greenridge Road is currently listed with United Country - Legacy Auction & Realty for $450,000.

There was a live and online auction for the Upattinas School property, formerly a pri-

vate school, on Saturday. The auction, conducted by United Country - Legacy Auction & Realty, did not produce a new owner.

“We had many curious onlookers and interested parties on auction day, but no buyer was successful on March 28,” said Susan Lang, apprentice auctioneer and owner of United Country-Legacy Auction & Realty, Pocono Lake. “United Country - Legacy Auction & Realty continues to work with potential buyers to consummate an acceptable offer and sale transaction. It is an amazing property, and deserves an equally wonderful new owner.”

The property, zoned as residential-2 in Upper Uwchlan, is also marketed on commercial data bases. In addition, the zoning would permit the building to be used as a church, bed and breakfast or community center, with approval by a conditional use.

Rich Coccodrilli, Jr., auctioneer and owner of United Country – Legacy Auction & Realty, conducted the auction. Prior to the auction, he said the property “offers the perfect opportunity for investors seeking ample acreage and multiple buildings.”

A flier with the notice of the auction is posted on the school website. It states that the “five buildings could continue to serve as an educational, recreational or religious campus, or upon township approval, make for a great conversion to a community center, corporate or personal retreat, and so much more.”

The five freestanding buildings include: the main school of approximately 5,874 -square-foot 1850 stone farmhouse; gymnasium that is approximately 13,413-square-foot regulation-size; administration building that is approximately 1,425-square-foot with multiple rooms; music building that is approximately 546-square-foot with soundproof recording room; and a building for art that is approximately 468-square-foot.

“The gymnasium is just an incredible asset for the new owner and the community,” Lang said prior to the auction. “The property was appraised at $1.2 million in 2011, and the gym alone has averaged up to $25,000 a year in gross rental income.”

She said the location, just off the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Marsh Creek and French Creek state parks, make it a “wonderful setting.”

The school has been up for sale since April 2012. When the property was listed with a different real estate company last year, the asking price had reduced to $675,000, down from its appraised value of $1.2 million.

The total lot size of the school property is more than nine acres. The property features public water and on-site sewer.

According to the school website, Upattinas was founded in 1971 by 21 families to reflect their beliefs that “learning is life and that the freedom to participate in decision making is an important dimension of school.”

Sandra Hurst, founding director at Upattinas, broke the news to the school family with a letter in October 2013. She wrote that a lack of funding did not allow the school to continue another academic year. Hurst said in her letter that there are not enough students attending the school and that the school did not want to increase tuition.

The school graduated 13 students in June 2014. The non-profit school had served students in kindergarten through grade 12.

According to its website, the school got its name because “in the early days the school met at Tina’s house … up at Tina’s ... Upattinas!”

For more information about the property, visit bidlegacy.com or call 570656-3299.