Upper Moreland Purchases Woodlawn School Building And Plans To Restore Property

UPPER MORELAND, PA — Fencing has been erected around a former township school building that is being prepared for demolition as local officials announced they had purchased the property.

Upper Moreland Township commissioners recently announced that the township had bought the Woodlawn School Building for $750,000, while at the same time approving the purchase of a tax exempt bond, or bonds, to find the improvements to the property, according to a social media post announcing the move.

The post by Upper Moreland Ward 1 Commissioner Nick Scull was shared by community members on a Facebook page for neighboring Horsham Township. It was shared just last week, but the original post appeared to be from late September, as Scull said settlement on the property had been scheduled for Sept. 30.

In the shared post, Scull stated that the former Woodlawn School building would be demolished and that the property would be regraded and have a grassy surface restored.

Scull said the bonds that were approved would be repaid during a 30-year period, which would raise township taxes by about $13 to $15 per household.

Scull announced that the demolition and restoration work would begin next spring, and that the building would in the meantime be enclosed with fencing to protect neighbors in the area.

In his post, Scull stated that the school building removal and restoration of the property would be a “very great improvement to our neighborhood,” stating that the project would add another four-plus acres to Woodlawn Park for the “benefit of all the Township.”

An online bio for Scull around the time he was running for township commissioner said that he had been working to demolish the “blight of the Woodlawn School Building, which has been ignored and neglected for 30 years, due to a lack of will on the part of previous Commissioners.”