The former Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg is on the market amid a dispute between its owner and its chief tenant, a development company led by a former NFL player.
Owner Jeremy Hunter of William Penn Holdings Inc. announced the building was for sale in a Facebook post on May 24.
The post has led to “many” offers, Hunter told biznewsPA on May 28. “I don’t think this property is going to be available much longer,” he said.
Hunter also said he is moving ahead with plans to evict the tenant, The Bridge Eco Village, a venture founded by Garry Gilliam to redevelop the 115,000 square-foot school.
Gilliam told biznewsPA he still hopes to purchase the former school, which he estimated is worth about $1 million, citing a recent appraisal.
William Penn bought the school for $300,000 in 2019 from the Diocese of Harrisburg. It had been vacant since 2012.
Why is this happening: The Bridge had an option to buy the property for $3.9 million, Hunter and Gilliam said. But a deal never came together, and The Bridge stopped paying rent last fall, Hunter said.
Gilliam said The Bridge had offered to pay $2.5 million for the 115,000 square-foot building, after subtracting lease payments from the original option price.
Hunter and Gilliam disagree over whether the lease payments should count.
The property currently is in foreclosure before Dauphin County Court.
Hunter attributed the proceedings to a disagreement with lenders over what his company owes on the property. Hunter said he does not plan to let the case go to a foreclosure sale.
But it is through foreclosure that Gilliam said he now hopes to purchase the building.
“We don’t plan on walking away from the project,” said Gilliam, a Milton Hershey School alum who played for the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers before retiring from football in 2019.
What project: The Bridge has been promoting a development that would blend housing, commercial space and community services, transforming the former school into what is described as an eco-village.
In 2022, the company received a $4 million state grant to help fund prep work at the building, which sits at 2200 Market St.
Gilliam said the company has not tapped the money because it has been waiting to take ownership of the building.
However, he said, The Bridge has done some work, such as cleaning up graffiti and patching holes in the roof.
The Bridge’s nonprofit arm, Empower at The Bridge Foundation, drew contributions from The Giant Co. to support a community garden in the former bleachers of the school’s football field.
Gilliam said he has access to other locations around Harrisburg if they are needed to continue operating The Bridge’s summer camps. “As of now, our Bridge activities are moving forward,” he said.
Hunter said he hopes the next owner continues working with The Bridge. “I’m pushing for it,” Hunter said, adding: “They worked so hard on getting people rallying around the project.”
