Dallas Township supervisors move to buy former child care HQ for $1.3M

Jan. 27--DALLAS TWP. -- With no public opposition, supervisors approved a motion to enter into a sales agreement to purchase the former Hildebrandt Learning Center Corporate Offices to use for municipal offices on Thursday.

The $1.3 million decision was made with a two-to-one vote that starts a process to meet a list of contingencies that include having the 1.5-acre lot, located at 105 Lt. Michael Cleary Dr., annexed from Dallas Borough, securing funding and obtaining approval of a certified building appraisal.

Dallas Township Supervisor Chairman Frank E. Wagner and Vice Chairwoman Elizabeth A. Martin approved the motion.

Supervisor William M. Grant abstained from voting, citing he previously was a member of Hildebrandt Leasing LLC.

"I sold my interest in Hildebrandt Leasing LLC in May 2015 to Matthew Marceron and Hall Kaplan, who are now the remaining members," Grant said. "I am no longer a member of Hildebrandt Leasing LLC."

Grant is a partner with Marceron and Kaplan in BM Partners, who own the adjacent Geisinger Dallas Family Practice building as well as some 27-plus neighboring acres.

Also, Grant said, his daughter and son-in-law are employed by Bright Horizons, a Boston-based company that acquired Hildebrandt Learning Center in May 2015.

If all the sale conditions are met, the nearly 8,500-square-foot former child care headquarters will double the space currently available for municipal offices and departments.

The current municipal building, located at 2919 Route 309 in Dallas Township provides about 4,500-square-feet, Grant said in an interview Tuesday.

The annexation process will take the most time, township attorney Thomas Brennan said.

The lot sits in a small notch on the Dallas Borough side of municipal boundaries.

Dallas Township owns the surrounding areas, including Dorchester Drive, which intersects with Lt. Michael Cleary Drive, and the neighboring Geisinger Dallas Family Practice.

The former Hildebrandt Learning Center Corporate Office building requires some renovation such as the construction of holding cells and lockers for the police department on the lower level. Grant said this area is unfinished space.

Offices for the administrative staff, zoning officer, tax collector and road department as well as a meeting room are planned for the main floor, he said.

Grant said the second floor is in "move-in" condition.

___

(c)2017 The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

Visit The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) at www.timesleader.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.