Former Burlington school for sale on eBay

ASSOCIATED PRESS • May 11, 2008

The owners of the former Apollo Middle School in Burlington are selling it on eBay at a fraction of the cost paid just two years ago.

The 1908 building has 90 rooms including a 700-seat auditorium complete with wooden seats and a red velvet curtain in its 108,000 square feet. It sits on 3.5 acres on a hill overlooking downtown Burlington and the Mississippi River.

As of Saturday evening, the high bid stood at $28,988, above the minimum of $19,500 set by the owners.

Tammy and Patrick Cutts of Grove Beach, Calif., bought the building from an Iowa City developer in 2006 for $145,000. They had hoped to develop it as a combined residential, commercial and community building. But after spending $50,000 for renovation and taxes, Patrick Cutts said it was costing too much.

"My wife and I did not really know what we were getting into when we bought it," he said. "We have not been able to come up with any money to do the needed repairs, and we're still paying on the loans we originally took out to pay for the building. Hopefully, someone will see our ad on eBay and will be able to buy it and get it repaired so it will be usable."

Cutts said he hopes to see the building developed into something that will benefit the community.


"I understand where they are coming from with the sale," said Burlington resident Jon Hazell, who has worked for several years to redevelop the building. "It's costing thousands of dollars a month in utility bills and taxes."

That's likely why the school building has changed hands four times in four years.
Hazell said windows are broken out of the building and pigeons have moved in.

Previous owners have attempted some repairs including fresh paint in the gymnasium and roof patches. Hazell said the building is in good shape because it has to meet school building codes until 2004.

"In six months, the building could be up and running," Hazell said.

Several organizations have looked at the building, but none have come up with the money for it.

Hazell said his biggest fear is that the building will continually be traded back and forth to owners outside the community who will not be able to renovate it.

"It has a great auditorium and would make a great mid-sized theater. The building has great resources," Hazell said. "The building can be redone cheaply and quickly, and it needs the community to get behind it."

Hazell said he's willing to volunteer his time to work on it because of the sentimental value.

"My grandparents met in that school. My dad was class president. So many people in the city, their history is intertwined in that building," Hazell said. "I was hoping to get people to develop an institute of learning there. You need something to bring life downtown."

Among some of the features listed on eBay: hardwood flooring, iron staircases, marble on some walls, original slate chalkboards and wooden cabinetry. The library, some of the bookshelves still standing, overlooks the Mississippi River. The trophy case is still inside the main entrance and there's a vault room with a steel combination safe.

The bidding closes at 10:10 p.m. today.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/p ... S/80511004