Sale of Wheeling’s Clay School Lockers Could Help to Pay Off Debt
WHEELING — Darryl Baynes, owner of the former Clay School in East Wheeling, will sell nearly 300 original wooden lockers left inside the facility to help pay off the mortgage on the massive building which he plans to sell to an Ohio developer.
He said the school is a sentimental place for those who attended it, and he sees opportunity in offering these relics as take-home objects. Baynes said he’ll receive less than $30,000 for the property in his deal with Neighborhood Development Services of Ravenna, Ohio, and he will still owe money on the property to the bank that issued the mortgage.
Baynes purchased the building in 2003 for $65,000 from the Ohio County Board of Education. He purchased the building with plans to repurpose it as a community and science center for local youth, but he could not secure investment from outside sources.
City officials had been pursuing action against Baynes in municipal court to force him to deal with multiple code violations at the old building.
Wesley Grisson of Fairmont, who plans to buy some of the lockers, said the items were worth the drive. Grisson and his wife collect antiques, and he said wooden lockers aren’t a common thing to find.
“They’re definitely unique,” he said.
Grisson holds no connection to the school, but he views the lockers as appealing items for interior decoration.
The Clay School was shuttered in 1996 by the Ohio County Board of Education in an effort to consolidate area facilities. It has remained vacant since, except as storage for Baynes’ company, Interactive Science Programs, which aims to drive interest in science, technology, engineering and math studies through science demonstrations and professional development for teachers.
Except for the lockers, Baynes said, the property is nearly swept clean and ready for its sale to be finalized.
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