Former School Could Be Leveled, Turned Into Montco Community Space

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — Officials in the Methacton school community are planning to soon address the fate of a former elementary school building.

The Methacton Board of School Directors later this month plan to meet and vote on a plan to level the former Audubon Elementary building and turn the property on which the structure sits into a community space.

The vote is expected to occur at the board's Nov. 22 meeting.

The building, which sits along Egypt Road between Crawford Road and Orchard Lane in Lower Providence Township, measures just over 55,000 square feet and sits on a 14-plus-acre parcel owned by the Methacton School District.

According to school district officials, the building, which was originally built back in 1928, was used as a school up until the late 1980s, before being closed and used as a local library.

It then reopened as a school again in 1995 but closed for good in 2017.

The district said it began discussions with Lower Providence Township in 2019 and 2020 about the future of the facility, but things were put on hold during much of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The issue was revisited this past summer when the school district superintendent presented plans to either sell or keep the property while targeting the elimination of an annual $200,000 in upkeep and maintenance costs related to the building, according to district documents.

Last month, plans were presented for the Methacton School District to level the building but keep ownership of the property and allow for further discussion on possible future use, according to officials.

According to district documents, some ideas for the property would be to install walking paths, a picnic pavilion, outdoor amphitheater and performance stage, playground, multi-use sports fields, tracks and more for the community to use.

The district said it is seeking to utilize a combination of district revenue and private donations for improvements to the property, and that it would be seeking local, county, state and federal dollars to help with renovations to the land.

More information about the project can be found here in this document.

The Methacton School District serves students in kindergarten through 12th grade in both Lower Providence and Worcester Townships.