The Williamsport Area School District officially has awarded several contracts related to construction at the former Roosevelt Middle School.
Contracts tentatively were awarded at the board's Dec. 6 reorganization meeting but couldn't be signed then because the purchase of a residential property adjacent to the building was not yet settled.
"We had to hold off and couldn't officially sign the contracts," said Jeffrey Richards, business manager.
Richards said the purchase of the property - 2920 W. Fourth St. - was settled on Dec. 15 at a price of $212,460.33, which includes other costs such as transfer fees and taxes.
"That was holding up the entire project," he said.
The district has been working to buy the property for about a year in order to expand the middle school project, Richards said
"I would say really from the time we started drafting the plans for the middle school," he said.
The property will be used as parking for the building. Richards said there's options on what to do with the house at the site.
"There's a choice if we can do it rapidly enough," he said.
Because the district hopes the renovations will be a "green" project, Richards said the house could be sold and moved, instead of tearing it down.
But if it is sold, it has to happen soon as the property is the main area designated for contractor trailer parking. A couple of people have contacted the district about possible buyers, Richards said.
"It has to happen in a hurry," he said, "We can't wait around."
Richards said with the contracts signed, the district hopes to start work on the old part of the building during the colder weather and build on additions when it starts to warm up.
Construction could begin as early as next week.
"They hope to start moving trailers in next week," Richards said.
