Jessi Virtusio | Pioneer Press | August 2, 2022

Barrington School District 220 is trying for a third time to sell its former district office, and the school board approved a resolution at a meeting last month that allows for the sale.

A resolution to initiate the sale of the property, at 310 E. James St., was approved at the July 12 meeting.

“It’s a great location in the village. There is a fair bit of flexibility with that property,” David Bein, SD220 assistant superintendent of business services/chief school business official, told Pioneer Press.

The 12,413-square-foot, single tenant office building is on a 65,037-square-foot or 1.49-acre parcel of land and is described as “conveniently located near downtown Barrington with excellent access to commuter trains.”

The real estate is being sold by sealed bid at a minimum price of $545,000, according to district officials. Bids will be accepted until 11 a.m. on Sept. 6.

“There’s a state law that governs how school districts can sell properties. One of the options is through an auction process, which you can either do as a live auction or sealed bid auction. The nature of this property, we believe, lends itself to a sealed bid auction,” Bein said.

The site, which is in an area with a mix of houses and businesses, had been the school district headquarters since the early 1970s when the district moved into the location after officially forming.

The district moved out of the building at the end of the 2018-2019 school year to its current office across from Barrington High School, officials explained.

“We needed the ability to have more meeting and professional development kind of space,” Bein said.

Constructed in 1957, the building for sale has offices and conference rooms. The site includes approximately 40,000 square feet of asphalt paving for parking.

Located in a manufacturing district, officials say the site is zoned A-1 Artisan District, which allows for light industrial and office uses. The “for sale” notice says that the seller would support a buyer’s efforts to seek rezoning for other purposes.

“It could be used a variety of different ways. We certainly hope there is a buyer out there that can make good use of the property for the benefit of the community,” Bein said.

According to Bein, the school district attempted to sell the property in 2019 and tried again in early 2020.  Those first two for-sales were also by sealed bid and did not result in any offers.

“The board has certainly been willing to entertain offers during the last couple of years, but we felt this was an opportunity to try again and hopefully with positive results,” Bein said.

No bids had been received as of July 26.

“From having done a variety of bids over the years, my observation is that most bids come in toward the end of the bidding period,” Bein said.

Interested buyers may contact the Barrington School District 220 business office.