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The land in question.
ANSONIA – Mayor David Cassetti’s administration has offered $1.5 million for 25 acres of land at 64 – 78 Pulaski Highway, where officials hope to build a new middle school.
The land is owned by Fortitude Capital/Ansonia Orchard LLC, a New York real estate firm. The firm had not responded to the offer as of Oct. 8.
The city based its offer on two appraisals conducted in September. Those appraisals each returned a value of $1.5 million.
Fortitude purchased the land in July 2022 for $1.15 million. The city had entered negotiations to purchase the land later that year, but those negotiations stalled after a disagreement in the land’s value, according to Ansonia Corporation Counsel John Marini.
The Middle School Project
School officials have wanted a new middle school for years.
A 2019 facilities assessment report at Ansonia Middle School found that the 88-year-old building requires about $15 million in repairs and upgrades. Issues include outdated science classrooms; dilapidated locker rooms; fire safety issues; and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations.
School officials have said that constructing a new building would cost about the same amount as the repairs for the current one. That’s partially because the state of Connecticut reimburses school construction projects – up to a point.
Typically, those rates vary between 20 and 80 percent, depending on the district. However, in May, the state legislature passed a bill that grants Ansonia an 87 percent reimbursement rate for the new middle school.
The city’s current capital spending plan budgets $100 million for the new middle school, plus $1.5 million for the land purchase. After reimbursement, the construction is projected to cost about $13,195,000 for the city.
A new building will also resolve other issues. The current middle school sits on 4.2 acres; state building standards say a middle school should be at least 15 acres, plus one more for each 100 students.
At 25 acres according to the two appraisals, the Pulaski Highway land meets that standard.
“The building has lived a good life and has supported our students; it’s time to move into the modern era,” Superintendent Joseph DiBacco wrote in an email to The Valley Indy.
The two appraisals commissioned by the city were conducted by Vincent J. Guardiano, of Derby, and Advisra Consulting LLC, of Milford.
Click here for the most recent Valley Indy story about the land purchase.
