Bloomfield Hills Schools to Buy Property on Franklin Road

The Bloomfield Hills Schools will relocate it's physical plant services department to a commercial property on Franklin Road just north of Square Lake Road.

The district's board of education on Thursday unanimously approved to purchase the building at 2258 Franklin Road for $695,000 in existing funds, and will begin plans to transition this summer. The department is currently located on the Andover High School campus, and will need to move when demolition of most of the building begins this summer as part of the New Bloomfield Hills High School construction.

The new facility, which will merge the Andover, Lahser and Model high school student populations, is slated to open in fall 2015. Construction plans show the current physical plant space will be split to house the new television studio and Model High School. District officials planned to move the department to the Bowers School Farm property, but found this purchase option cheaper.

As part of the high school transition, the board budgeted $1 million create a space on the farm that supports the entire district's grounds, general maintenance, custodial and skilled trades needs. The initial estimate for a facility at the farm was $787,200, and did not include space for storing much of the department's tools and equipment, district documents show.

In addition to the price, officials said Thursday that the proposed new location offered greater flexibility, and was closer to most buildings in the district than the farm space on East Square Lake Road near Squirrel Road.

The current building on the property is a warehouse with about 1,500 square feet of office space that is zoned for industrial use. Physical Plant Director Brian Goby said detailed inspections of the current building will begin next week, but he expects it should need little work other than installation of a security system and upgrades for technology needs.

Board members said they considered several other options, including leasing the property for the same use, and repurposing current facilities that are vacant, such as Pine Lake Elementary School. None offered the potential value of the new site — which can be resold, if needed — and kept the district's current facilities plan intact.

"It’s a great investment on part of the community and allows us the flexibility but also takes care of immediate need," Board Trustee Ed Ford said.