"The board of education made a decision to explore the opportunity to purchase the Allegheny Energy buildin off of Downsville Pike," says Paul Bailey, Vice President of the Board of Education.
Board of Education officials say even though the building has the space they need, it's a matter of whether it's up to code or not. But they're still considering other options in downtown Hagerstown.
"The board is keeping all options open as to their final choice of location," says Bailey. "Within a period of not more than 73 days, that decision will have to be made."
They put down a refundable deposit of about $150,000 which means they have a 45 to 78 day window to conduct proper studies of the building before making a final decision.
"We didn't know they were getting ready to put a refundable option on it," says Lewis Metzner, Hagerstown City Council Member. "I think what that tells us is we have a time deadline to get this together."
Meanwhile, city officials say they're using that time to their advantage
"The city is going to be conducting their own studies to put together the package to present to the board of what it would cost them so we can bring them downtown," says Metzner
And local businesses are hoping to have new neighbors.
"I just hope they make the wise decision," says Paul Deputy, co-owner of The Giurmet Goat. "I hope they do come downtown because it's going to be the best for everybody and they need to help suport downtown."
The current price tag on the former Allegheny Energy building is $5 million.
City officials say they expect the cost of moving to downtown to be cheaper than moving off of Downsville Pike site.
