Worthington Spotlight

Popular Categories

District, Boundless unable to seal deal for parcel



After nearly three years of considering a property acquisition from neighboring I Am Boundless, Worthington school district leaders learned last month the nonprofit organization has taken the land off the market.

Worthington Schools had eyed the site as a potential location for a new Colonial Hills Elementary School, which initially was considered for Phase II of the district’s Master Facilities Plan before leaders decide to focus that phase on district high schools.

I Am Boundless occupies the property that once housed the historic Harding Hospital on East Dublin-Granville Road. The portion of the land being considered for sale lies just northeast of the current Colonial Hills site and abuts the northern border of the neighborhood.

Although the district viewed the property as an attractive location for new construction, feedback from the Colonial Hills community was not as enthusiastic. Superintendent Trent Bowers characterized the neighborhood response as “mixed, with some support and some resistance.”

Bowers recapped the past couple of years of negotiations as less than ideal, given the disruption of the pandemic. After reviewing a proposal from the schools, the board for I Am Boundless rejected the proposal and took the property off the market

Bowers was notified of the decision by I Am Boundless Chief Executive Officer Patrick Maynard.

“The I Am Boundless Board Campus Development Committee met on July 1 and considered the Worthington Schools proposal to purchase the (southeast) portion of the property,” Maynard said.

“Based upon their recommendations, we have made the decision to not accept the WCS proposal – to be more precise, our decision is to remove that portion of our property from consideration for sale.”

While the current focus is on Phase II and passing a bond issue to support improvements at Thomas Worthington and Worthington Kilbourne high schools, officials will continue to look at options to bring Colonial Hills Elementary School’s facility into the 21st century.

“At this point, unless something changes with the Boundless decision, the school district will likely look to phase three of the Master Facilities Plan, likely in 2026 or 2027, and work with the current property to create the kind of learning environment our Worthington students deserve both now and into the future,” Bowers said.

While many changes are on the horizon for the coming school year, Colonial Hills students can look forward to attending school at the building tucked into the neighborhood on Greenwich Street now and for many years to come.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *