Former schools offices
Canton is poised to buy the former Cherokee County School District offices for $2.5 million.
Gary Tanner
Canton City Council is poised to buy for $2.5 million the historic building that formerly housed Canton High School and later Cherokee County School District offices. The proposed sale is on the agenda for both the council and school board tomorrow.
Canton Mayor Gene Hobgood said no plans are final, but that city officials have discussed some ideas.
“Our initial thoughts were that we could move city hall into it and then the police department is growing, it could move into the current city hall,” Hobgood said.
The City Council has set a specially called meeting for Thursday at 5:30 p.m., and the only item on the agenda is a closed session to discuss a real estate transaction. Hobgood confirmed Wednesday that the transaction is the former school system building, located on the corner of Archer and Academy streets in downtown Canton.
In 2015 the city and school board swapped land downtown where the former Canton Elementary School and former Canton Textile Mill offices for property off Bluffs Parkway where the school system built a new administrative building. The school system put its former administrative building on the market, but did not get an offer meeting its asking price. When the building was marketed, the school system gave the city right of first refusal to buy it for $2.5 million if the system did not get an offer for more than that amount.
Hobgood said he believes the building to be in good condition and large enough to accommodate city operations. The sales contract gives the city a 15-day window to perform inspections of the facility.
The building served as Canton High School from 1915-1956, according to a sidewalk plaque outside the structure.