Future of former I.J. Samson building worries Jonathan Galgay

St. John's City Coun. Jonathan Galgay says he's revolted at news that the former I.J. Samson school is again up for sale.

"I'm completely disgusted about how all of this has been handled," he said.

The vacant building in St. John's was sold by the province in June for $189,000, despite having an assessed value of over $2 million. Now, the property is back on the market for $1.8 million.

• Former I.J. Samson School back on the market 
• Vacant I.J. Samson school valued at $2M, sells for $189K 

Galgay told CBC's St. John's Morning Show he felt the whole process of selling the school was misguided, which created a major loss of potential revenue for the province as well as anxieties about what the site may now become.

"Obviously if there's an interest in the purchase sale as it is today, there would have been an interest at a price like that if the school board had listed it themselves. So somebody's got a lot of explaining to do, either at the school board or the department of education."

A 'wake up call'

Galgay said the city was told initially that the new owner had the means to do environmental cleanup on the site, and wanted to put a housing complex there.

Now, Whiteway Holding Inc. — who has listed the property — says more than half of the $1.8 million will be used to pay for any such remediation work.

Galgay said that shows the tender process was the wrong way to go about selling the property. He said it also raises fears about what could go there and the impact it could have on the mostly residential neighbourhood.

"Somebody can come in here now and they can buy this and turn it into who knows what," he said.

"The neighbourhood has adjusted to having a vacant building there, and whoever buys it needs to take it into consideration. It's certainly not the place to turn it into a shopping mall or something of that magnitude."

In the meantime, Galgay plans to make sure all proper inspections and assessments are done on the building, so that the current owners are paying their due taxes.

"The city needs to come down hard on this," he said. "I think this is a complete wake up call, depending on who purchases it."