Pending approval by Lackawanna County Court, the closed East Intermediate School on Quincy Avenue will have a new owner. The Scranton School Board on Monday approved selling the building, which has been closed about four years, to a 5,000- to 7,000-member Hasidic Jewish community based in Brooklyn, N.Y., for $400,000. One hundred families plan to relocate here initially and use the building for a school, with up to 1,000 more moving here in the future. The community members are expected to open businesses as well.

Private sales, unlike methods using requests for proposals or auctions, require court approval to ensure the district is getting fair market value, solicitor Harry McGrath said. The buyer must present two independent appraisals to the court. Notice of the hearing date, which has not been set, will be posted on the building.

Board approval was unanimous by a 7-0 vote. Board members Joseph Garvey and Frank Brazill were absent.

The offer was the only one on the table. A previous interest, which indicated it planned to use the building for student housing, pulled out.

Board member Robert Lesh said he knows the selling price seems like a small amount to some people for such a large building, but he believes the community�s move will act as a catalyst for revitalizing that section of the Hill neighborhood. A prior district appraisal placed the building�s value at $350,000 to $375,000.

�We�re enthusiastic,� board president Brian Jeffers said after the meeting. �We believe it�s going to bring great commerce into this city, and we wish our new neighbors the best.�

The district will have to provide services as needed to the Hasidic school at an as yet unknown cost including nursing and transportation, Mr. Jeffers said.

Teri Backus of Realtec One Source Realty, which represents the Hasidic community, said she plans to meet with the group this week to discuss plans to move the first 10 families here. She was unsure when the school would open, noting repairs are needed to the building.
TTT