Fall River’s plans to sell the aging Sylvia School have collapsed. That’s why it stopped.

FOL RIVER — Since 2013, the city has tried unsuccessfully to sell and redevelop the dilapidated Frank M. Sylvie Elementary School and Public Schools Administration Complex at 138 Hartwell St.and at Tuesday night’s city council meeting, two proposals to redevelop the property were rejected due to a flaw in the bidding process.

City Administrator Seth Aitken said at the meeting that he has asked the city to “look into this issue.” He went on to say that City Councilwoman Michelle Dionne had “noticed the problem” and that processing grunt “made the proposals null and void.”

Aitken explained that “the way it should be done” is that the price offer for the property must be sealed and the offer needs to be evaluated by a tender committee. According to Aitken, development proposals are reviewed for their benefits to the city and then priced.”

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“Because the price is very clear in one of them,” Aitken said of one of the two proposals received, “we have a process that is flawed, and there is no way to change the ethical dilemma of disclosing pricing information too early.” “

Re-bidding would have to happen after a “due process,” Aitken said, and Silvia School is blocked from going to the Real Estate Board. It is not known when the second round of bidding may take place.

Bids were initially accepted on October 25 at 2:00 p.m., with a minimum bid of $20,000.

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Why did Sylvia’s school remain untouched all these years?

The former school, built in 1902, has been vacant since 2003.

Around 2017 the city council approved David Herbert, a developer and businessman, as the buyer. The blighted property was then sold for $5,000, subject to Herbert’s promise to turn the building into a boutique hotel and restaurant while preserving its historic character.

These plans never came to fruition, and Herbert tried unsuccessfully to resell the property.

The city of Fall River repossessed the property in January. The city, on the advice of Fall River Preservation Societytook advantage of the repossession clause because Hebert did not develop it according to the plans.

Former Mayor William Flanagan, who owns and operates Cosmopolitan Dispensary at 82 Hartwell Stwhich adjoins the destroyed school, recently said he wants to buy it, and will spend $3 million to demolish the property and “donate” the green space to the city.

Property included List of significant structures in Fall River and Massachusetts Historical Commission Databaseand has an automatic six-month delay for any demolition plans.

It is not known whether Flanagan submitted an application to purchase Silvia School before the deadline at the end of last month.

Mayor Paul Coogan said in a January interview that he would like to use the corner that greets drivers exiting Interstate 195 through a major artery into downtown Fall River. “You walk into a city … and we have a building that’s collapsing right in front of our eyes.” The goal was both then and now: to restore the dilapidated building, to give it a more aesthetic appearance and purpose.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River offers to sell old Sylvia school ‘invalid’