College Seeks Old Clinton Junior High Property
Mississippi College was the lone bidder for the old Clinton Junior High property this week.
And MC leaders say the Clinton School may decide as early as Feb. 23 whether to OK the university's $3,501,000 bid for the 17.5 acre property on College Street. Getting that stamp of approval will pave the way for the university to expand this summer.
The Christian university recently bid for the site declared surplus by the Clinton School Board. Members of the Clinton board set the minimum bid at $3.5 million. The MC bid was $1,000 above the minimum.
"We are excited about having this bid," school board President Tommie Cardin said in a front-page story in Thursday's "Clinton News." If the board gives its endorsement at a Feb. 23 meeting, the property could be transferred to Mississippi College June 30, the newspaper said.
Attending Tuesday's board meeting in Clinton, MC President Lee Royce said the university is interested in the property mainly for classrooms and faculty offices.
For about two years, MC administrators eyed the property. Fronting both the Clinton Parkway and College Street, the site is familiar turf for Mississippi College and their neighbors in Clinton. The band hall is rented by MC for practice sessions. The auditorium is used by the Brick Street Players. MC band students marched on its vacant fields this fall as they prepared to play at Choctaws home football games.
The process was lengthy. But after much study, and involvement by lawyers, school leaders and others, the matter finally was settled with bids opened in early February.
The new site will give MC some breathing room. With almost every square inch of MC's 320-acre Clinton campus occupied, the Baptist-affiliated university needed more space for its programs.
The university's quest for the property in the heart of Clinton and that of other potential bidders attracted much interest in "The Clinton News."
Quoted in a January newspaper story, local Realtor David Stevens said: "It is a beautiful piece of property, and you can't beat the location."
The land is surrounded by the specially zoned district known as Olde Towne Clinton.
It's a valuable piece of property. But in a unanimous Vote Dec. 30, the school board declared it surplus effective at the end of the school year and advertised for bids. The Clinton public schools needed more cash in the midst of America's economic troubles.
Cardin said the sale of the property would allow the district to retire its bonded indebtedness as it ponders building a new school to replace Northside Elementary. That school is suffering from foundation problems.
Once the property gets turned over to Mississippi College, MC officials will complete their studies and decide how to best utilize the site for students, faculty and staff.
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