GHS and Fulton elementary sites to hold Thursday open house for potential bidders

A pair of shuttered Germantown schools will open up for curious developers to get a look-see and contemplate placing a bid on Thursday.

Germantown High School and Robert Fulton Elementary are two of the 20 buildings that the School District of Philadelphia — with the help of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) — has put on the auction block as it stares down another financial crisis.

“The idea is to give anyone who is interested as clear a picture as you can put together in a couple-hour window as to the condition of the site,” said Tom Dalfo, PIDC’s senior vice president for real estate services.

The listing price for GHS is currently $3.3 million, and $1.25 million for Fulton, according PIDC’s website.

Dalfo said final sale prices, however, will ultimately reflect the demand for any given building.

Community rally planned

Germantown High School Task Force members will also be on hand Thursday for a 9 a.m. rally that aims to spread the word about its efforts to bring a new educational endeavor to the four-story property.

Since December, the grassroots group has discussed how best to breathe new life into the 99-year-old building.

Discussions at previous task-force meetings have centered on bringing a voc-tech school to the hulking, four-story site. Providing a traditional K-12 curriculum has also been floated.

“My whole focus is really trying to assist in making sure that there is a school in the community for the children and, if at all possible, bring back alive a history of a school that’s meant so much to so many,” said task force member Vera Primus, who also heads Germantown High School’s alumni association.

Logistics

The open house at GHS, located at 40 E. High St., begins at 9 a.m.

The open house at Fulton (60 E. Haines St.) starts at 1 p.m.

NewsWorks will be on hand; a story and photos will be posted after the open houses.

PIDC hopes to make a series of recommendations to the district in mid-June. The district will then make its own recommendations to the School Reform Commission for approval.