Dist. 709 Supt. Talks Central H.S. Property Sale Falling Through

DULUTH, Minn.- On Tuesday, we heard from the Duluth Schools Superintendent John Magas after the sale of Central High School fell through.

This past summer, a developer called Saturday Properties from St. Louis Park in Minnesota intended to buy the property for $7.4 million.

The company planned to create 400 units of townhomes and apartments from the property, which overlooks downtown Duluth.

While the news is disappointing to the school district, Magas says he’s hopeful another buyer will come along.

“There are things built into our planning that allow for us to adjust for this cost. There are certainly some things that it could impact a little bit, the cost, but we also know there quite potentially could be other parties very interested in the property as well,” Magas said.

The school district is still planning on knocking down the building this year so it can be shovel-ready for a new possible developer.

Meanwhile, the city of Duluth released the following statement on this topic:

“The City of Duluth has done everything we can to facilitate and support this development on behalf of the community,” Chief Administrative Officer Noah Schuchman said. “All that said, the City is not able to exempt the project from legal requirements in statute, code or ordinance associated with the size or scope of the project. The City remains supportive of the overall intent to redevelop the Old Central High School site, and is committed to assisting ISD709 and a developer as future plans and real estate agreements between those parties are discussed.”