Lakewood gets one bid for building
BY MARK ROSMAN Staff Writer

LAKEWOOD - One bid has been received by the Lakewood Board of Education from representatives of an institution which is interested in buying the school district's administrative headquarters.

Superintendent of Schools Ed Luick told the Tri-Town News on March 28 that representatives of Beth Medrash Govoha, a school for rabbinical and Talmudic studies in Lakewood, were the only people to respond to a request for bids that was issued by the board for the school district's administration building at 655 Princeton Avenue.

The minimum bid that was sought by the board for the building was $6.5 million and Luick said Beth Medrash Govoha submitted a bid of $6,518,000. He said school district administrators will now review the bid and present it to the board.

The board members will decide whether to sell the Princeton Avenue building or to reject the bid, which they have the right to do, Luick explained.

According to the legal notice that was published to seek the bids, the building will be sold in an "as is" condition.

The building at 655 Princeton Ave. opened in 1912 as a school for students in grades seven through 12, according to Lakewood resident Sheldon Wolpin.

The Lakewood Heritage Museum is housed in the building and has been since it opened in September 2004.

Lakewood school board President Chet Galdo said the Princeton Avenue property is about 5.5 acres in size and said it might be possible for a developer to build 60 to 70 townhouses on the site. He said the cost of maintaining the building is prompting the board to consider selling it.

If the building at 655 Princeton Ave. is eventually sold, the board could consider building an addition at an existing school and moving its offices from Princeton Avenue to the new facilities, Galdo said.

According to Lakewood Township's Internet Web site, Beth Medrash Govoha was founded 58 years ago. The school's enrollment for 2008 was projected to be 5,000 students, making it the world's largest center for education in the Talmud (the authoritative body of Jewish tradition), with affiliations to educational and communal institutions worldwide.