Flint, MI—The purchase process for 13 vacant Flint Community Schools’ properties has officially begun.

The properties’ requests for proposals (RFPs) were posted in late June 2022 to the FCS website. They include terms for the sale or lease of Cook Elementary, Dort Elementary, Garfield Elementary, Johnson Elementary, King Elementary, Lowell Junior High School, Manley Elementary, Merrill Elementary, Stewart Elementary, Washington Elementary, Williams Elementary, Wilkins Elementary, and Zimmerman Center.

So far, Thrun Law Firm, which is supporting the school system’s property offloading process, has not yet received any proposals said Philip Clarke, an associate at the firm’s East Lansing office.

“But the bidding is open until the end of August,” Clark said, noting the 60-day window for proposals to be submitted before being presented to the Flint Board of Education for review.

“The District will consider all proposals, whether by purchase or lease. The contents of the proposals are really up to each bidder, but would generally include identifying a purchase or a lease and the purchase price/lease amount,” Clark added in an email. “A general description of the intended use may also be helpful for the District’s consideration.”

To facilitate the bidding process, Peter Medor, Director of Operations at FCS, is hosting public walk-throughs of some of the properties this Saturday, July 16.

The times and properties being toured that date are as follows:

  • Manley Elementary (3002 Farley St.) at 8 a.m.
  • Stewart Elementary (1950 Burr St.) at 9:30 a.m.
  • Washington Elementary (1400 N. Vernon Ave.) at 11 a.m.
  • Lowell Junior High School (3301 N. Vernon Ave.) at 12:30 p.m.
  • Williams Elementary (3501 Minnesota Ave.) at 2 p.m.
  • Johnson Elementary (5323 Western Rd.) at 3:30 p.m.

Walkthroughs of the remaining properties have already passed, so bidders interested in those vacancies are being asked to contact Medor directly at (810) 767-6046 during regular business hours if they would like to tour a space ahead of bidding.

RFPs for all 13 properties can be found here, and bids must be received electronically by Thrun Law Firm by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 30, 2022 to be considered. 

The board has not yet publicized a date for reviewing the proposals after that deadline.

Kate is Flint Beat's associate editor. She joined the team as a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues....