The North Royalton City School District is in the process of selling the remaining elementary school property that has been vacated after the opening of the new North Royalton Elementary School this past fall. Presently, the Valley Vista school property is up for sale. The district has decided to keep Royal View, but the Albion Elementary property will also be placed up for sale.
The Valley Vista property is on Wallings Road, east of State Road; Royal View is located on Ridge Road, just north of Bennett Road; and the Albion Elementary property is located on Albion Road, just east of York Road.
Last September, the Board of Education authorized the district to do the asbestos abatement for Royal View at a cost not to exceed $250,000; the abatement and demolition of Albion for a cost not to exceed $650,000, and the abatement and demolition of Valley Vista Elementary School at a cost not to exceed $550,000. District Treasurer Biagio Sidoti stated that the cost of the project has been planned for and was certified that the district has the funds to do these projects, but the money does not come from the actual $89.9 million bond issue. Presot stated that the project was subsidized with the interest of the bond revenue and the District’s permanent improvement fund. Total cost of the project was expected to be $1.3 million. The entire cost of the abatement of all three schools and the demolition of Valley Vista and Albion was about $1.2 million, according to Presot. According to Biagio Sidoti, District Treasurer, all expenditures are part of the District’s master plan. Ultimately, the District will be given a credit from the Ohio Facilities Construction Committee. “When our time is up, we will receive our portion, which is expected to be $3.2 million, or about 3.4% of the total project,” said Sidoti.
The district hired the EA Group, from Mentor to do a total facility hazardous assessment, taking samplings of items, such as flooring, ceiling and pipes. They then filed a report, which was provided to Hammond Construction, which was responsible for the abatement and demolition by contracting the abatement to Precision Environmental and B & B Wrecking did the demolition. The work was complete by the end of 2021.
According to North Royalton School Superintendent Mike Laub, Royal View “will potentially be a couple of things. We’re still working on this – it’s still a conversation.” He indicated that when the District’s master plan was discussed, Royal View seemed to be the best choice for the move of the board office, based on the status of the building and the location. Royal View will possibly then house central office administration staff and be an area for professional development. There is currently discussion about Royal View being the potential location of safety town, which will require outside and classroom space. “As we look at Royal View and get cost estimates, that can evolve into other things,” said Laub. Currently the central office staff is scattered, with some being in the central office building and others in mobile units. “We are looking forward to getting it in a central location,” he said. Once that transition takes place, Laub said that the central office building, located on Royalton Road, might be a renovation that would be turned into locker rooms for the stadium and hosted teams.
The Albion property consists of 24 acres and is zoned PF Public Facility. “We haven’t moved on Albion. We want to see what we get with Valley Vista,” said Presot. “There are certain processes that have to be followed, such as public bidding, to see what we have to do.”
The Valley Vista Property consists of 21.88 acres. The zoning on the property is split about half each, of PF Public Facility and R1A residential zoning, according to Jim Presot, Assistant to the Superintendent. “Our intention is to sell the property as it is currently zoned.” The property was placed up for auction, in accordance with Ohio law, but there were no bidders. Presot said that there is currently an interested party, but “we want to make sure that the most amount of people are aware that this property is for sale.”
For anyone interested in the property, contact the central office 440-237-8800. Information is also listed on the District’s website, www.northroyaltonsd.org.

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer