Renovation of the former Ohio Department of Transportation garage in Burton Village to accommodate various Berkshire Schools vocational programs may begin within weeks.
Renovation of the former Ohio Department of Transportation garage in Burton Village to accommodate various Berkshire Schools vocational programs may begin within weeks.
The Berkshire Schools Board of Education met in special session Dec. 23 to approve a contract to purchase the 5 acres at 13595 West Center Street for $750,000.
According to the resolution authorizing the purchase and lease of real estate, the district will use a gift of $750,000 from Preston Chevrolet Inc., Preston Ford Inc. and Preston Real Estate Holdings to buy the parcel and five buildings, since ODOT no longer needs the facility.
A portion of the facility will be leased to Preston, according to terms and conditions in the lease.
District Treasurer Beth McCaffrey said in an email the deal is expected to close on Dec. 30.
ODOT built an expanded garage facility in Middlefield Village and moved there in 2023. The Burton Village facility has been vacant since then.
The old buildings will be updated and used to service the Berkshire bus fleet, house the district transportation department and administrative offices and for classroom space and vocational activities, according to last Monday’s resolution.
The board accepted the gift, agreeing acceptance is contingent on the board using it to buy the property.
The resolution also authorized the superintendent or treasurer to execute the contract and any amendments to the lease, such as extending deadlines.
Board President John Manfredi said renovation of the buildings can begin as soon as the district closes on the deal.
The Burton Village Zoning Commission will have to change the zoning, as well, said Superintendent John Stoddard in a phone interview Dec. 27.
He and Pat Preston shook hands in September on the plan to share the facility, which is just east of the Preston dealership and service center on the north side of West Center Street.
Preston, owner of Preston Automotive Group, said during the tour of the buildings last fall he plans to spend up to nearly $1 million to renovate part of the facility, with the goal of having high school students become certified in automotive repairs and be qualified to get jobs in the private sector.
Berkshire’s diesel mechanics classes are also slated to move there from the building on the Geauga County Fairgrounds.
A $915,000 grant from the state legislature that Sen. Sandra O’Brien (R-Ashtabula) and Rep. Steve Demetriou (R-Bainbridge) championed will pay for renovations on the transportation and administrative offices and spaces for students, Stoddard said.
The district will also repair the roofs of buildings and the blacktop areas in the yard and provide key-card security for building access, he said.
Preston plans to supply much of the equipment needed to repair vehicles, such as lifts, and is going to replace the old wooden building with a modern shell for classroom space while the district builds the interior, Stoddard said.
At least two teachers will be on site for the diesel and agriculture programs, he said.
The district contracts with First Student Inc., headquartered in Cincinnati, to manage the transportation department.
Six of their people, as well as bus drivers, working out of the facility will be subject to Burton Village’s 1% income tax, Stoddard said.
