JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Duval County School Board voted to sell the closed Kings Trail Elementary School to Dream Finders Homes for about $3.7 million. Our news partners at Jacksonville Today report that the developer plans to build 100 homes on the property.
The move from the school board has drawn concern from nearby residents and neighborhood leaders.
The school sat vacant for about a year after closing at the end of the last school year. On Thursday, the school’s signage couldn’t be seen, while some windows were boarded up.
Frances Maneely, who lives about 10 minutes from Kings Trail Elementary, said she worries that if Dream Finders gets approved to build that many homes, it would worsen traffic and speeding problems in the area.
“What is going to be the impact of supposedly, from what I heard, 100 homes going in here? So where’s the traffic gonna go?” Maneely questioned.
Chrissy Kinne, government relations officer for the San Jose Neighborhood Association, said the group is asking the developer and the school board to compromise with the neighborhood.
“What we’re asking for is what’s called a community benefit agreement, where the conditions on how the land will be used with the developer in the future,” Kinne said. “Provided that the sale does in fact go through when they close, some of the needs that the community in the neighborhood has that the school once filled can still be met.”
Cindy Pearson, District 3 school board member, addressed neighbors during the March school board meeting and urged caution about the broader effects of selling neighborhood schools.
“I implore us as a board to be thoughtful about how we proceed and to be thoughtful about the impact that selling schools has in our communities to our constituents who live who have already lost the neighborhood school and who are now,” she said.
The sale is not final. The district must complete the normal real estate closing process and the developer must pursue city approvals, including zoning and permitting.
The district sold another vacant school, Annie R. Morgan, to a nonprofit called MyVillage Project, which plans to convert that site into a tech incubator and community hub, a decision that the community has supported.