$220,000 high bid nets Peirce School building

Former Belfast elementary school sold at auction

Plans for landmark building kept under wraps
Ethan Andrews
Wed, 08/28/2013 - 12:00pm
Auctioneer Stefan Keenan tries to solicit bids at a public auction of the former Peirce Elementary School, Aug. 28. At right, the buyer’s representative, who declined to be identified, offered the winning bid of $220,000. (Photo by Ethan Andrews)
“I normally feel compelled to say, ‘Good morning ladies and gentlemen,’ but I have an urge to say, ‘Good morning class,’” said auctioneer Stefan Keenan at Wednesday’s sale of the former Peirce Elementary School. (Photo by Ethan Andrews)
The exterior of the former Peirce School as it appeared in 2012. (File Photo by Ethan Andrews)

Story Location:
24 Church Street
Belfast, ME 04915
United States

    BELFAST - The building that was home to Peirce Elementary School for nearly a century, and most recently was headquarters of the Belfast Academy of Music, sold at an auction, Aug. 28, for $220,000.

    The public sale, held by Keenan Auction Company of Portland, drew around 20 attendants. Auctioneer Stefan Keenan declined to disclose how many paid the $10,000 registration deposit required to bid on the property, but said it was fewer than 10.

    Two parties placed bids on the property, which included the 11,000-square-foot building and surrounding grounds. The offers started at $200,000 and crept up by intervals of $1,000 to $2,500 in a back-and-forth exchange until the bidding topped out at $220,000.

    The building was an elementary school from its construction in 1915 until 2003. It was replaced, along with two other small elementary schools, by the Captain Albert Stevens School.

    The Peirce School was home to The Walsingham Academy (later Belfast Christian School) for two years before the city sold the building in 2007 to William Ryan. Ryan opened the Belfast Academy of Music as a hub for local music instruction but the school never took off and Ryan closed the doors in 2011, citing financial difficulties.

    City officials passed over a buyback option in the original deed, reasoning that the old school would find a better use on the private market. City Manager Joe Slocum noted at the time that the property was zoned for certain uses. The city could also enter into a contract rezoning agreement with a buyer interested in a non-conforming use and maintain influence in that way, he said. 

    Early this year, James McClelland, who funded the original purchase of the building, foreclosed on Ryan and legally took possession of the building in May.

    McClelland told Penobscot Bay Pilot in July that he intended to sell his $326,000 interest in the property for $220,000 prior to the auction.

    Prior to Wednesday’s auction, Keenan noted several liens on the property totaling $13,333.77. The bulk of that amount came from unpaid property taxes from 2011 and 2012.

    The winning bidder at Wednesday’s auction confirmed that he was a representative of the buyer but declined to identify himself or disclose the buyer’s plans for the old school building. 

    Ethan Andrews can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com

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