LMSD Votes To Buy Islamic Center; Stoneleigh Still An Option

LOWER MERION TOWNSHIP, PA – At Monday's Lower Merion School District Board meeting, the board voted to purchase the Islamic Foundation Center in Villanova as a site for a new school as enrollment grows, giving a bit of ease to opponents of the district's potential seizure of the Stoneleigh property.

The board voted for the Islamic Center purchase if additional field space could be found, the buildings are not re-classified as Class 1 Historic Resource, and that zoning considerations to allow a school are approved, according to the district.

"The Township Building and Planning Committee could vote to recommend preparation of an ordinance to reclassify the mansion and carriage house at the Islamic Foundation Center as Class 1 buildings," the district said in a statement. "That would make demolishing the buildings very difficult and would mean the site would become impractical and cost-prohibitive for a new school."

The committee will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 13.

But the board still could make moves to use the Stoneleigh property if things fall through with the Islamic Center.

"While real estate experts working on behalf of the District continue to search for other potential middle school sites and solutions within the Township, Stoneleigh remains an option," the district said. "It should be noted that if the Islamic Foundation property remains usable (i.e. not designated Class One by the Commissioners), that could eliminate the need for condemnation of all of Stoneleigh, though the District would still need to find additional field space."

State Rep Warren Kampf last week introduced a bill that would limit the use of eminent domain, which the district floated to take part of Stoneleigh, as a response to the district's proposal.

"The Lower Merion School District has decided to use eminent domain to condemn privately owned land permanently preserved by conservation easement, over the objections of many residents of the community," Kampf said in a press release o the bill. "This bill will do what most people thought would have happened to all preserved land."

Additionally, the district has nixed looking at St. Charles Seminary for a new school, as the Archdiocese has plans to continue using the property for the next five years.

The Friends Central Lower School is also off the table, as the school isn't interested in selling the property and the district is unable to condemn a site already in use for educational purposes.

As for the Islamic Foundation Center, President of the Board of School Directors Dr. Melissa R. Gilbert

The district is encouraging residents who support building a school at the Islamic Foundation Center to contact their respective commissioners to ask them to vote against the historic re-classification of the 1860 Montgomery Ave. property.

Image via Lower Merion School District