The Butler Middle School in Butler, pictured in 2022, will be sold after a public hearing with prospective buyers on March 6. Butler Eagle File Photo

An open house at the former Butler Middle School is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 27, just one week before the public hearing to sell the property.

According to Butler Area School District superintendent Brian White, the open house will allow interested parties to tour the first and second floors of the building.

“This is not a functioning building,” White said. “We’re just coming in for a tour and we’re not fully operational at this time.”

As of the February meeting, the number of parties interested in buying the building has remained at four.

White said he will be in attendance to “encourage last minute offers to buy the building.”

The open house is expected to be the penultimate act of the sale before the public hearing at 11 a.m. March 6. A judge at the hearing, set by the Butler County Court of Common Pleas, will choose the most beneficial offer for the district and community.

Heather Bonzo, the district’s director of finance, said in October 2024 the district pays around $197,000 annually to maintain the property. White said the cost to demolish the building would be around $2 million.

The building, which is about 180,000 square feet, closed at the end of the 2021-22 school year.