Could a new fate be in store for the former Central High School site?

Details broke today that a potential buyer has been identified for the former Central High School site at the intersection of Central Entrance and Pecan Avenue (800 East Central Entrance). The school closed at the end of the 2010-2011 school year after the restructuring and consolidation of the Duluth Public School system.

The roughly 77 acre site is one of the largest and most development primed sites within the entire city of Duluth. Situated at on one of the highest build able sites within the city the site still contains three buildings that make up almost 300,000 square feet of usable space and could be reused or redevelopment in a variety of ways.

The site itself has been marketed for over $13 million in past years and has had five potential buyers over the years. However, even with multiple potential buyers over the years the forty year old building and the two neighboring thirty year old buildings have yet to find the perfect buyer. Until now that is.

800 East Central Entrance has been rezoned so that it can allow residential, educational, and commercial use on site really opening it up for any use essentially. The developer who hopes to buy the site is looking to buy the entire property not just a single parcel. However as to what those plans include for the site are still under tight wraps by the developer and have yet to be made public.

Area residents have voiced their opinions of what they hope to see for the second life in the Duluth Central High School site. Some hope that it would be picked up for use as a higher education school while others have hoped that it would be demolished to make way for housing. Another wish/idea being floated around recently is a new development that would include a high end hotel or two, housing, shops, restaurants and office space making the site a destination for local residents and tourists alike.

Recently many have also been hoping for a major development that keeps the site public. That's one of the fears that have been floating around for quite sometime is that if a buyer does in fact acquire the site that they might have the ability to make it so that the site becomes private therefore cutting off some of the best and most picturesque views this city has to offer.

As always, check back to CDINDULUTH in the coming months for more information regarding the redevelopment of 800 East Central Entrance.