Concord Group Insurance Wants District’s Walker School

A third suitor has expressed interest in purchasing the now empty Walker Elementary School.

Last week, the CEO of The Concord Group insurance companies wrote to the district expressing interest in purchasing the building after a tour last month. Walker School is right across the street from the main campus for the company.

According to a letter, Linda Day, the CEO of the company, informed the district that the company would like to offer $610,000 for the building and would relocate employees who currently work at offices in Bow to move into a renovated Walker. She requested another tour of the building as well as access to the roof of the school.

The company also proposed moving its historic Concord Coach display that is housed in its Bouton Street facility inside of the second floor auditorium space of the school, noting that it was “perfect for a small museum.” Day added that the company owns “many artifacts” that can’t be displayed due to space issues.

“We are very excited about the historic qualities of this property and would look toward renovations that would bring back its original charm,” she wrote.

This latest proposal comes on the heels of two other proposals for the school.

Last month, WBIN Media Co., the company owned by former U.S. Senate candidate Bill Binnie, proposed purchasing the building for $575,000, for new television and radio studios.

In June, a company from Massachusetts, Stratford Capital Group, proposed building 41 adult senior units, using the current building and adding an addition, and proposed paying the district $512,000.

All three proposals, however, fall far below the appraised value of $3.7 million for Walker School that was presented to the public by district employees and school board members in 2008 and 2009 as a selling point during the debates about elementary school consolidation.

The school district will meet with the potential developers about the Walker building at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 8, in the district office of Dewey School, and again at 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 15, for community meetings at the school.