Buyer has one week to close escrow on Kingsbury Middle School sale

The sale of Kingsbury Middle School to Lake Parkway LLC is still on, for now.

At a special meeting of the Douglas County School District Monday, the board voted unanimously to give the buyer until Monday, July 31 to come up with the rest of the $3.15 million purchase price for the middle school which has sat vacant since the 2008-09 school year.

To get the extra week of escrow, Patrick Taylor, managing member of Lake Parkway LLC, had to put in an additional $40,000 into the escrow account, bringing the total to $55,000.

At least 20 people attended the meeting, several of whom spoke to the board about the intended use of the property. Lake Parkway LLC said they wanted to put in 412 units on the 22.4 acre property.

The School Board's job is a fiduciary one, to sell the property and not to determine what it will be used for, that discussion is for planning commission, Douglas County Board of Supervisor and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency since zoning will have to be changed.

The buyer presented a new offer to the Board about the sale, with possible future extensions up to six months, but since that idea was not on the agenda, the Board could not discuss it due to open meeting laws.

Some of those speaking live in Lake Village, the school's neighborhood, and said their property values would drop if affordable housing went in. Concerns about increased traffic were also mentioned.

One person spoke in favor of the proposed affordable housing project.

Funds raised through the sale will be used by the district to improve school sites.

When the property went into escrow one year ago sale agreement was contingent upon rezoning of the 22.4 acre parcel, TRPA and Douglas County building permits. It is unknown if Taylor has secured those items.