For the fourth time, the Springfield Public Schools Board of Education has extended the contract for the sale of the former Hickory Hills School to Larino Properties LLC.
The board voted Sept. 18 to give Nixa-based Larino Properties President Paul Larino a 90-day extension to make a $2.5 million payment toward the purchase of the property, according to a news release. He will continue to make nonrefundable cash payments of $12,500 per month that won't go toward the purchase price, a condition of a
third contract extension in April that gave Larino five additional months.
SPS Board of Education President Tom Prater said the contract extension was granted after the recent completion of the demolition of the former school building, which began this summer.
“Demolition of the building is a major milestone, and accomplishing that gives us confidence that the developer will continue to move forward with the project and meet the requirements of the contract," Prater said in the release.
In December 2010, SPS finalized the sale of the Chestnut Expressway and Highway 65 property for $4.45 million to Larino, who plans to build a 46-acre development at the site dubbed Hickory Hills Marketplace. The sale initially stipulated that Larino would pay $2.5 million by June 15, 2011, a second payment of $1 million by Dec. 31, 2015, and a final payment of $950,000 by Dec. 31, 2017.
To date, Larino has paid the district $200,000, including $75,000 that doesn't go toward the purchase price, according to SPS.
When the contract was first extended in summer 2011, Larino paid $50,000 to the district and was given a 120-day extension for the first payment of $2.5 million. When Larino missed a second deadline in October 2011, the $2.5 million payment was extended by six months with the condition that the developer make a $12,500 payment and demolish the former school. With the third contract extension in April, Larino agreed to make monthly payments of $12,500 that don't count toward the purchase price until the lump-sum payment is made, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
The sale of the property was
marked as an issue when Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich’s office in February gave the school district a "fair" rating, the second-worst rating in state audits.[[In-content Ad]]
