Paula Peterson
Kingsbury Middle School has a buyer, again. An offer of full asking price, $3.75 million, was made on the school during Tuesday’s Douglas County School District board meeting and approved by the trustees.
The school was closed by Douglas County School District in the 2008-09 school year due to low enrollment at schools at the lake. In 2012, the Board of Trustees placed the 22.4 acre property on the market for $4 million, but an offer to purchase the school for $3.15 million fell through after an extended escrow. The trustees placed the school back on the market in December, 2017 after having the property reappraised.
Pioneer Mountain LLC is the purchaser of the property. The company told the Board they had plans to create a Christian-based center for youth, ages 5-23. A search of Secretary of State listings for Limited Liability Corporations (LLC) shows businesses with same name in California and Arkansas.
DCSD Superintendent Teri White told South Tahoe Now that they are officially in escrow as of Friday, January 12. $50,000 was wired into an escrow account. They had ten days from the January 9 meeting to continue due diligence on the buyer to make sure they were qualified.
“Because the last situation went on so long and didn’t end well, we wanted some extra time to do vetting on the company,” said White.
White said she will be meeting with the group’s team soon to look at paperwork. She said Pioneer Mountain had been looking at property for several years, and had previously worked on an offer so the company knows the area and building climate.
White said they have received proof of funds but the Board is feeling confident the deal can close. They are still doing more due diligence on their part, but the Board is satisfied Pioneer Mountain LLC has the money available after receiving a letter from their bank.
The sale is expected to be completed by April 9, 85 days after acceptance of offer.
“We are very hopeful we can close the deal this time,” said White. “Funds to maintain the empty building can go towards work on other projects around the district.” Proceeds from the sale will go to district-wide projects that have been waiting for funding.
The word of the sale was disappointing to Lake Tahoe Yoga owner Jenay Aiksnoras, one of those interested in buying the Kingsbury Middle School property. She wanted to put “Tahoe Bliss Retreat” in the old school.
“I’m not done,” said Janay, who is continuing to push for her plans for a health and wellness center. “I didn’t expect it to happen so fast.”
She was surprised at the decision of the Board to accept Pioneer Mountain’s offer. She also has many questions, including who Pioneer Mountain is, how their project will affect the community, and if they’re open to collaboration with others who were interested in the purchase, including a local group who wanted to build a curling center at the location.