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Asbestos removal cost exceeds value of Asa Wood property

| June 5, 2020 8:46 AM

School officials in Libby and a Kalispell-based developer are searching for a less expensive fix after determining the cost of removing asbestos from the former Asa Wood Elementary School outweighed the property’s value.

American Covenant Senior Housing Foundation targeted the defunct school building for possible redevelopment late last year. The outfit hopes to see the structure, which last served students in 2011, replaced with an assisted living facility.

Officials with the Libby Public School District expressed support for the idea and have, in recent months, assisted with a market study and prepared to sell the property. But in doing so, the district assumed responsibility for removing asbestos in the structure.

A hazardous waste material management examining the structure in recent weeks estimated the cost of cleanup at $667,000. The market rate value of the property, including the land around the building, is about $530,000, Superintendent Craig Barringer told members of the Libby Public School Board on June 1.

“Their offer to us is less than the cost of removal,” Barringer said. “The property appraises at less than the cost of removal.”

The asbestos is concentrated in the pipes of the building and in the flooring, officials said. The hazardous material also has collected in the exterior walls, a remnant from the days of the W.R. Grace mining operation.

That the cost of remediation is higher than the value of the property — the building itself is assessed at just $286,000, Barringer said — is not a deal-breaker. The superintendent told the school board that American Covenant representatives were looking at other, potentially less expensive, options to mitigate the asbestos.

He said the price tag of removal did not come as a surprise to officials at the senior housing organization.

“One of the groups that met with [American Covenant] said it’s pretty typical — the cost of removal is huge,” Barringer told the school board.

After the meeting, the superintendent said the outside contractor brought in to assess the situation looked solely at the removal option.

“There are things you can do to keep it contained without removing it,” Barringer said.

Were the building ultimately redeveloped as an assisted living facility, American Covenant officials expect to erect between 42 and 47 units on the site. Executive Director Gerald Fitts predicted work on the site would take about a year.

A market study conducted in the winter showed ample demand for such a facility in the area.

Barringer said June 1 that the organization is projecting to spend about $11 million redeveloping the property. Proponents of the project have noted that redeveloping the property would take underused public land and add it back to the town’s tax base.

The superintendent also said the facility, if completed, would “bring in good paying jobs.” Officials estimated earlier that the project could create between 12 and 14 jobs in the community, which saw an average unemployment rate of more than 7.5 percent between April 2019 and March 2020.

Although many community organizations, including the Libby Food Pantry, still use the building, much of the structure has been relegated to storage space for the district. Earlier this year, Barringer described a few of the discoveries made since clearing out the building, including costumes a long since departed dance troupe left behind.

Officials have pledged to help find new homes for the organizations that still use the facility. Space in other district buildings is being set aside for several of the community groups.

As for the food pantry, representatives with American Covenant have floated the idea of building a new, onsite facility for the organization.