Information provided by Lakewood resident Anthony Farr. Thank you!
Vivian Elementary is recommended to be sold to Carlson Associates Inc. Carlson plans to develop into 34 homes on 6,000 sq. ft. lots. Carlson will work with the City of Lakewood and Jeffco Public Schools to have 3 acres of land set aside for a city open space. The purchase price is under the appraised value and under the posted cost of recent renovations that residents paid for through bonds. The final sale approval will be made November 14. There will be no other public involvement.
Two developers did not pursue buying this property after hearing that Lakewood would demand parkland dedication. So Jefferson County Schools did not receive top dollar bids. The recommended bid came in under appraised value.
The sale of the property is managed by JLL Investor Center. This same firm who is recommending buyers also recommended which schools to close, along with a school disposition committee.
The City of Lakewood approved negotiations to buy the Vivian Property in what was likely an illegal executive session that did not notify the public of their intent to buy parkland from one school but not the other. Terms for the sale to Lakewood have not been disclosed or finalized.
Vivan Elementary neighbors started a petition to get the city to save the property as a park. As of November, they gathered 1,126 signatures.
This is large number of residents but ironic, given that Lakewood City Council recently derided the 8,000 signatures gathered as part of a recent park land petition. Council, including Councilor Mayott-Guerrero, said the 8,000 signatures wasn’t enough to listen to. In the Vivian case, the city acted on a much lower number.
Contract details from the school board presentation:
According to the 2024 Financial Report, the school board paid $1,868,804 for completed renovations in 2020, just four years ago. However, the Jeffco Builds webpage shows a total budget of $2,251,226 – more than the potential sale price of the property.
