CenterPoint Church Says No To Concord School District Land Sale

CONCORD, NH — Members of a Concord church, which was considering selling land in the western part of the city to construct a new $176 million middle school, have voted to pull out of the agreement.

The negotiating team at CenterPoint Church offered a report to members in late September suggesting they did not believe an agreement could be reached between the two parties to sell about 37 acres of land off Clinton Street near Langley Parkway for a new middle school. After working for many months, the church members unanimously agreed to cease negotiations. Still, they asked members, during two votes in October, to make a final decision whether to move forward with continuing to try and iron out an agreement or walk away.

Members of the church voted to walk away during the votes.

The church negotiating team raised four main objections to the state of the negotiations, including land value tax liability fee, withdrawal penalties, contingencies the school was asking for, and the inability to find other land for the church to use for recreational purposes. The school district was also not willing to part with any of its land holdings for the church to use, the team said.

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• Concord School District To Buy Land For New Middle School
• Concord’s Middle School Could Be Sold After New Facility Built
• A Lot Of Unknowns With New Concord Middle School Project

There was also concern about pushback from the community, including environmental activists and others, who believed fewer students would walk to the new middle school if it were built so far in the western part of the city, as well as traffic issues already at the busy intersection.

Church members agreed the funds, if a deal were accepted, would not be integrated into its general fund except for reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses during the sale negotiations. Members would like the funds to be used toward local, regional, and world missions and outreach, “blessing Concord Christian Academy and other Christian schools,” and the church’s capital fund. There is a $120,000 capital fund debt the church was also floating.

The Clinton Street land was set aside to build either a larger church, at some point, or a Christian school that would provide room for “growth and ministry.”

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