It may be premature to say the $1-million purchase of the closed Brownsville Middle School to George Hawthorne’s Diversity Program Advisors is over, but it’s one life support. Through a public records request of the School District, we have a series of emails between real estate agent Danny Zimmern and Hawthorne.
Zimmern complains in an email dated March 11 that he had tried to reach Hawthorne a “dozen times” without any of the calls being returned. This is two days after Superintendent Malcolm Thomas told the school board that staff had contacted Hawthorne at the end of its workshop. Zimmern is clearly frustrated with Hawthorne and representations that the developer made that he hadn’t heard back from Zimmern.
Hawthorne replies at 7:23 pm on March 11: “…if you can’t talk to me send me an email.”
On Wednesday, March 16, Zimmern sends another email: “George, can you please give me an update on your progress with Brownsville?”
Hawthorne writes Zimmern that the Habitat is progressing with the HUD site and environmental approval. Once completed, he will get an appraisal for the the lot price as finished. So as I earlier published, Hawthorne doesn’t have the $1 million. It will take Habitat’s agreement for DPA to get financing for this project.
Hawthorne says he has one possible tenant, a food preparation business. The non-profits are “sitting and waiting”….”they will not do anything until they know that the deal is going to close.”
Hawthorne wants special considerations from the School Board: “The School Board really needs to work with me to get this Habitat deal done. They are closing schools and don’t have any ‘real’ prospects for re-use and/or buyers.” He offers to get the School District “some proceeds for their school through Habitat.”
Read the emails.