Concord’s Walker School, Up for Bid

The two companies interested in purchasing the now vacant Walker Elementary School will face off in a final public auction for which party will purchase the building sometime in the near future.

Both Concord Group Insurance and WBIN-TV, a media company owned by Bill Binnie, have been given term sheets and purchase and sale agreements, according to Matt Cashman, the director of facilities and planning for the Concord School District.

The Concord School Board decided last month to reject a proposal by Stratford Development Group for a senior housing building on the site.

Cashman said both parties would probably be put in separate rooms and will go through the process of bidding for the school.  

“We gave them a deadline to say, this must be returned and signed to be agreed upon, at an auction at a later date,” he said, “to take the next step.”

Tonight, Nov. 14, Christ the King Parish, the only bidder for Rumford Elementary School, will make its presentation to the board’s Capital Facilities Committee. According to Cashman, Rosemary Heard of CATCH Housing, after reading that parishioners were interested in Rumford, pulled its tentative interest in the school.

Cashman said that he did pitch Eastman Elementary School to CATCH for a possible housing site, since it is zoned for housing and a proposal for a convalescent facility received sharp rebuke from abutters and neighborhood residents. He expected CATCH to look into the property and get back in touch with the district at a future date.

"I think there could be interest there," he said. "I said to her, Let me know, I'll leave it to you when you're ready." 

In the interim, the Concord Boys & Girls Club may consider renting the school from the district during its construction.