Nicole Ault/Collegian
Empty fields and a pile of rubble give the former Manor Foundation property an abandoned look—at least for now. Jonesville school officials said they hope to see it bustling with offices and student activities in a few weeks.
The Jonesville school system bought the 35 acre property from the Manor Foundation in April because of its proximity to the current school buildings and the space it provides for school activities, according to Jonesville Superintendent Chellie Broesamle. Broesamle said the school system paid $1 for the property, plus $3,000 for utilities.
The Manor Foundation was established in 1930 as a residential school and treatment center for children with disabilities, said Marcia Gensterblum, vice president of operations at the Manor. The institution closed in February 2013.
Some of the buildings on the property have had to be demolished, Broesamle said, including part of the main building and the school building.
“The damage to the buildings had become pretty severe,” she said, citing black mold, broken roofs, and high utility costs as a few of the problems.
Broesamle emphasized that school officials carefully considered the decision to purchase the property and demolish some of the buildings.
“We tried looking at different avenues,” she said, noting that she grew up with the daughter of the property’s owners. “The school did not take lightly taking down those buildings.”
Berlin agreed that the decision was not easy.
“We discussed this in great detail for a quite a while, toured the property, sought input from other sources, and weighed the benefits versus the costs and liabilities,” he said in an email.
One of the benefits, Berlin said, is more space for Jonesville Pathways, an alternative school for the district.
“The Manor property is primarily going to be used for our superintendent’s office and our business office, so when they move over there, it opens up more space for Pathways on our middle school campus,” Eric Swihart, the principal of the Pathways program, said.
Swihart noted that the property will benefit Jonesville students in multiple ways.
“We do lots of outdoor opportunities here for all Jonesville kids, and the manor foundation property will allow us to expand that.” he said. “We want to let our kids enjoy a new setting rather than being inside in front of a computer.”
Swihart said the property will benefit teachers, too: “It allows the teachers more opportunities to make connections with their curriculum into the community and the natural resources that we have here.”
School officials plan to make use of several buildings on the property. Travis Berlin, vice president of the Jonesville school board, said the school will have access to a gym, and some of the offices in the main building will be used for school administration.
Berlin said a garage on the property will be used for maintenance vehicles and a storage building will provide room for storage that used to take up space in the back of the middle school as well.
The property also has several fields and trails, which Broesamle said will be used for outdoor programs and activities, including cross country meets, soccer games, an archery club, Future Farmers of America activities, and maybe an outdoor science center.
For now, Berlin said the school is focusing on getting the offices and gym ready for use.
“That should be completed soon and make the property available to our district’s educational and recreational activities,” he said.
Broesamle said she is excited for the new opportunities that the property will provide.
“There’s cool stuff happening, that’s for sure,” she said. “There’s just a lot of things that are available, and we want it used by the community and students.”