The Economic Impact Created By Recycling Through Renovation, Remodeling, and Conversion of Educational Facilities Upon an Urban Community's Property Tax Base.

This study investigated and anlayzed the sale price and assessed value of residential property value within a half-mile radius of six selected educational facilities/sites in the Gr and Rapids Public School District, Gr and Rapids, Michigan. It was to determine if residential property value differed between recycled schools through renovated, remodeled, or converted educational facilities/sites from public school usage compared to similar educational facilities/sites which maintained their primary public educational function. Each of three recycled schools were matched with similar schools that were not recycled. The basic data were obtained from the Gr and Rapids City Assessor's Office for all residential property transactions within an eight-year study period. This included four years prior to and four years after the educational facilities/sites were recycled. A model was developed to gather the data and allow it to be computerized. A questionnaire was sent to all individuals who bought residential property between September 1, 1973 and August 31, 1974 and who still owned the property to determine their thoughts about the changes in their educational facility/site. Characteristics of each educational facility/site and residential property (neighborhood) research area were gathered from the Educational Facility Planner's Office of the Gr and Rapids Public Schools. A personal observation was made of all six residential areas and the educational facility/site within each area. In addition, each educational facility/site and neighborhood was analyzed by the number of financial transactions by year and by the number of street crossings a child had to make to reach the school as related to sale price and assessed value of each recorded transaction. The findings of the study resulted in the following conclusions. (1) Sale Price of residential property grew at a faster rate around the three recycled educational facilities/sites than in the areas where the three elementary schools maintained their primary public school function. (2) The growth of assessed value did not differ between the property around the three recycled elementary schools and the three public elementary schools over the eight-year study period. (3) Assessed value and sale price ratio varied between the three recycled educational facilities/sites residential property more than the three public elementary schools only in one year out of eight. (4) There seemed to be a comparable number of property transactions for the three recycled and three public elementary schools for the first five street crossings from the schools with a sharp drop off of property transaction sales from the sixth street crossing on. (5) All three of the recycled educational facilities/sites were associated with increased value of residential property in their respective areas. (6) There appeared to be a greater potential for increased tax revenue growth from residential property following the initial first two years of recycling of the three educational facilities/sites. (7) Residents in the recycled educational facility/site areas did not consider the school as important in their selection of their property. Key factors for purchasing their residential property were location and price. (8) Most residents were satisfied with the type of change which took place to the neighborhood school. (9) Almost all residents felt that their residential property did not decrease in value due to the recycled educational facility/site. (10) A large majority of residents felt that their property was being assessed fairly. (11) The data from the Gr and Rapids City Assessor's Office followed similar trends with the residents' view of their residential property sale price and assessed value.PhDEducational administrationUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/157989/1/8025764.pd