After the sale of the Kalispell Public Schools Auxiliary Services Building in Kalispell fell through, trustees unanimously decided to take the property off the market.

Developer Sam Baldridge of Whitefish withdrew his offer of $260,000 for the building at 514 E. Washington St. His offer had been contingent on negotiating a lease with a governmental entity, according to Baldridge and board documents.

This turn of events makes moving the district warehouse, print shop, mail room and shipping department currently housed in the building less imperative.

Baldridge’s was the only offer on the property since it went up for sale 20 months ago. The district originally accepted his offer at $90,000 below its asking price because of the limited commercial use of the building layout. The building was formerly Edgerton Elementary School.

Parking was also problematic. There are about 16 parking spaces, according to Alice Ritzman of West Venture Properties.

“What was done previously is part of that block was sold off piece-by-piece [and] that created the parking situation,” Ritzman said.

Without money from the sale of the Auxiliary Services Building, the district rescinded its $385,000 offer to purchase the Open Hearth building at 365 Seventh Ave. E.N.

With an additional $150,000 in available end-of-year money the purchase would have been at no cost to taxpayers.

“The current building operates within what we need it to operate in right now,” Superintendent Darlene Schottle said. “Is it what we would want in the future? I would say probably no. I think the school district as they move forward would like a larger building that is more accessible.”

Board chairman Frank Miller said the long-range facility plan needs to be reviewed before making further decisions about the building. In September, Miller had voted to approve the sale of the Auxiliary Building because of the costs associated with future repairs on a property that didn’t meet district needs.

Eventually, the building will need extensive upgrades such as boiler replacement and asbestos abatement. A boiler replacement is estimated to cost $86,000 and removal of asbestos close to $100,000, Ritzman said.

“My thought right now is we were put under the gun when we did sell it and we had to scramble to try and find something,” Miller said. “Until we really know what we want to do, I would take it off the market because three months from now we could be in the same dilemma and who knows what would be available for us.”

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].