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Editorial
The NWI Times
EDITORIAL: Gary School Prices Must Plunge
Gary Community School Corp. officials are driving up prices again, trying to make a bundle on real estate worth far less.
School officials want to sell two parcels of wetlands to the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority for $3.75 million to $6 million.
Airport officials say appraisals on the two parcels give them a combined value of $368,000.
"It just shows how unreasonable and ridiculous they are in their assumption," airport Director Chris Curry said.
The school district's own appraisal last year gave a similar value. The new figure came after "talking to some state, regional and national experts on the value of wetlands," school district spokeswoman Sarita Stevens said.
The two parcels -- Tolleston Woods, near Burr Street and 21st Avenue, and the Miller School property -- total about 103 acres. They would be used to mitigate damage caused by plowing under about 40 acres of dune-and-swale habitat to extend the airport's main runway.
School officials should know the value of the airport expansion. This is Gary's best shot at economic development in decades. It is a project of great value to all of Northwest Indiana.
This is not a time to try to squeeze more money out of the airport authority. That drives up the cost for everyone else and delays the project in the meantime.
The fact that Gary school officials must face is that they have surplus real estate that should be unloaded. That includes not just these two parcels but others as well.
Setting prices that are too high will prevent a quick sale, as any homeowner or real estate agent knows. It's better to set realistic prices, unload the excess baggage, and move on with the process of reinventing the schools.
Gary school officials have set up a preposterous obstacle to the expansion of Gary/Chicago International Airport. How can the school officials expect to build support for their own radical -- though necessary -- changes when they overprice property they don't need? Your opinion, please:
Are Gary school officials setting real estate prices too high?
Share your thoughts at http://nwi.com/opinion.
This article ran on nwitimes.com on April 9, 2009.
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