The Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School purchased an East Mountain property from Friendship House for $1.6 million Friday to house its school.
Currently located at 134 School St. in North Scranton, administrators at the charter school are excited to get into a newer facility with more space to expand.
The 9.5-acre parcel at 1615 E. Elm St. will allow for enrollment growth, in-building physical education classes, school assemblies and musical productions on site, recently appointed principal of the school Amy Kenton, Ed.D, wrote in a statement Monday.
"For many years we have been looking for a new location at which we could best achieve our school's mission. When this opportunity arose, we decided to take advantage of it," Dr. Kenton said.
The property previously housed a Friendship House treatment facility and three residential cottages where children with special needs were treated for more than 50 years, and was put on the market in February for $1.9 million.
A longtime private school in the area, Howard Gardner became a charter school in July 2012. It previously had to have shared space for programs but will now be able to have specific areas dedicated to science, art, music and language programs.
"It's an exciting time for the school; it's a new chapter," Dr. Kenton said.
Contact the writer: ksullivan@timesshamrock.com, @ksullivanTT on TwitterLooking for a new home
The Howard Gardner Multiple Intelligence Charter School has been looking for a new home for a while. Twice in the last five years, it has tried to acquire the former Serrenti Army Reserve Center on Colfax Avenue in the Hill Section, according to Times-Tribune archives.
The school lost its bid in 2009 to the city, which had planned a backup site for City Hall that it eventually dropped. In 2012, Gardner again tried to acquire Serrenti but faced a challenge from the Scranton School District, which wanted the site for a school to replace William Prescott and the closed John Audubon elementaries.