MILTON — The old Food World off U.S. Highway 90 in Milton could be getting a fixer upper — by the Santa Rosa School District.
For the last five months, school officials said they have been eyeing the property as space for a new administration building. The current Berryhill Administrative Complex is ancient and out of the way, officials said.
“Location wise, it provides accessibility,” Joseph Harrell, assistant superintendent of administrative services, said. “It’s more central with quick access to the interstate and Highway 90.”
Harrell said the new office would be one story and about 46,000 square feet. However, they aren’t looking to renovate the entire Food World building, just about 9 acres of it. It comes complete with parking spaces, sewer and electrical.
“The building will require a new roof…as well as an upgrade to the HVAC,” Harrell said. “It has an existing fire sprinkler, however we’ll have to renovate that. And basic remodeling.”
In total, the new office space will cost the district about $4.5 million. That’s $10 million less than what the Florida Department of Education estimated for a building of that size, Harrell said.
“We feel confident,” Harrell said. “We need the space, and we can do it at a third of the price. We feel we are doing our due diligence.”
Superintendent Tim Wyrosdick said he is pleased with his district’s efforts so far, and they have worked closely to follow guidelines set by school board members. The district has even agreed to a purchase price less than the selling price.
“We challenge ourselves each day to be good stewards of the taxes the citizens of Santa Rosa County give us,” Wyrsodick said in a written statement. “The purchase of the Food World Property makes sense for us. When we consider the cost of a new facility, repurposing an existing facility is the best use of the money our citizens entrust us with.”
Harrell said if the board agrees to purchase the building, he’d like to close within a month.
“My hopes would be to move in by the summer of 2018,” Harrell said.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa Schools looking to purchase old grocery store