The Karns City School District is looking into an agreement to transfer the closed Bruin Elementary School building to the Nonprofit Development Corporation of Butler County.

BRUIN — The Karns City School District is looking into an agreement to transfer the closed Bruin Elementary School building to the Nonprofit Development Corporation of Butler County.

The Bruin school, at 139 School St., has been closed since 2012 due to declining enrollment, according to Superintendent Eric Ritzert. Although the school was listed with a real estate agent for a little more than a year, there was “minimal interest,” Ritzert said. The offers that were received were less than $6,000, and the school was appraised at $236,500 in 2012, Ritzert said.

“The district decided not to sell the building. We were looking for interest in the school building that would benefit (the community),” he said.

In 2014, the Housing Authority of the County of Butler also was working on a deal with the district to transform the property into an 18-unit senior living complex, but that deal never materialized.

Now, the Nonprofit Development Corporation is interested in creating a human services hub in the building, according to Michael Robb, the executive director of the corporation.

The nonprofit has been around since 2010, dealing primarily in property management and construction services for other nonprofit entities, Robb said.

The nonprofit proposed a concept to the board about what could be done with the building: “Several things were discussed. One was possibly a human services hub for other nonprofits to help serve that community and area. It wouldn't be just us because the nonprofit development corporation doesn't provide services,” Robb said.

Currently, the conversation is focused on the possibilities rather than fleshing out a specific plan.

“I think what we've got to do is to start taking those ideas and boil them down into a concrete plan of action,” Robb said. “I don't think we're there yet. I think we're at, 'What could we use this building for?' I think there are a lot of good options but we have to look at how sustainable they are.”

Robb said the building has an interesting, central location about half an hour from Butler, Armstrong and Clarion — something Robb said could make a community service project a good fit for the location.

Ritzert said the school board has not taken any action on the subject but has authorized the district solicitor to work on an agreement with the corporation. It's not known yet if the agreement will just transfer the land or if a small purchase price will be included, according to both Ritzert and Robb.

Ritzert said the board is interested in what the Nonprofit Development Corporation has to offer the community.

“It might benefit our local community if we can get some of the social services interested in putting in an office or some type of service in that school building,” he said. “It'd be nice to repurpose that building to help the residents of the area.”

Robb said the nonprofit is not in a particular rush to acquire the building but would like to see progress made toward an agreement or purchase in the next three months.

Ritzert expects the school board to have a draft agreement to review during the Nov. 14 or Dec. 1 meeting, he said.

Those meetings will both be at 8:30 p.m. at the administration office, 1446 Kittanning Pike, Karns City.