John Zoulis, the purchaser of the historic East Gordon Street school building in Bel Air, has been cleared to begin the long the process of rehabilitating the structure for its newest use, following the Harford County Board of Estimates approval of the sale Tuesday.
"The board did what they had to do," Zoulis said. "I'm very happy and excited they approved it, because they're going to see something happening with this site that's been an eyesore for a while."
Zoulis, who is president of Zoulis Properties Inc. in Baltimore, placed the highest bid of $101,000 for the two-story brick building and surrounding acre during a public auction held Thursday.
His winning bid was significantly less than a 2013 appraisal that valued the property at $620,000. The assessed value for property tax purposes is $857,000.
The sale of the county-owned property had to be approved by the Board of Estimates, whose members made no comments nor asked questions before they voted 6-0 to accept Zoulis' bid. Warren Hamilton, the County Council's appointee to the board, was absent.
Peter Wakefield, a procurement agent with the county who attended last week's auction, told board members that procurement officials recommended the board approve the sale to Zoulis.
The building, which is known as Bel Air Academy and dates to the late 1880s, has been unused for about eight years. It has been the onetime home of Bel Air Elementary School, Bel Air High School and the headquarters of Harford County Public Schools.
The brick structure has remained boarded up since the school system's central offices departed in 2006, and Zoulis purchased it in its rundown condition.
"It has a history behind it," Zoulis said.
He must rehabilitate the building. A County Council resolution approved in 2014 prohibits him from tearing it down, "unless so ordered by a regulatory authority for public safety reasons," according to the resolution.
Zoulis said Tuesday it is "too preliminary" to say what he will do with the property, which is between the present-day Bel Air Elementary and the Historical Society of Harford County headquarters.
Any future use also must be approved by the Town of Bel Air, he explained. The property has a town commercial zoning classification.
"I would like to retrofit the existing building," he said.
Zoulis said the building could become a residential complex, but he is considering other uses.
"It's a long road ahead of us right now," he said.