Winthrop Hall Residence

Winthrop Hall, the old John B. Cary West End School that towers over the 2100 blocks of Idlewood and Grayland Avenues, is now up for sale. The unoccupied building has been deteriorating for months. The owner is Stephen J. Staats, a real estate developer who made headlines in 1997 when he bought the property for under $200k and converted it to an assisted living facility.  As recently as 2008, the building has been assessed by the city at $6.5 million and $5.3 million in 2009.

There have been rumors that the site was slated to serve as a mental health facility after the assisted living enterprise folded.  At this point the future is wide open.  There have been calls for a grocery store, an elementary school, and a community center. At the very least, it would be an improvement to see the yard kept, the windows unboarded and without broken glass, and just a tad less random graffiti.

The news of the sale came from news at the CAPS meeting for the Near West
district.  Ward Kuper, our local environmental officer, and the City were both moving on this property to address its upkeep.  During this process, the Kuper came across the contact information for the the sales agent for the property.  If there is any information about a potential buyer, or any other details, please add that information to the comments.

If you would like a REALLY BIG house, the building has over 50k square feet of finished living space and nearly 20k in the basement.  It sits on a parcel that is over two acres of fenced in area.