Sycamore School District 427 has sold the former Central School, a historic downtown building, for $151,000.

The Sycamore district’s board this week authorized the sale of the almost 100-year-old building at 245 W. Exchange St. The district has owned it since it was built, most recently using the building to house administrative offices.

The sale agreement comes two months after the board sought a second round of bids for the purchase of the building in August.

BCM Industrial Park, a limited liability company that purchased a site known as Sycamore Industrial Park in 2021, placed the winning bid, according to school district documents.

School board member Cole Regnery said he’s OK with the decision to sell the storied school building.

“I think we did the best we possibly could and got as much information as we could, and I feel good about this,” Regnery said.

The district previously sought bids for the property from April 29 to May 16. The board did not act on the three bids that were received, however, according to documents provided through a public records request. At the time, the largest bid for the building was $91,000.

“We thought it would be best for the community to try to get them a little more money, or at least take another shot, because the bids came in so far off from what it was originally thought to be worth,” Regnery said.

School board president Michael DeVito said in August that new bids would need to be more than double the failed $91,000 bid for the board to entertain the offer. The approved purchase agreement with BCM Industrial Park is not that much, however.

Board member Beth Marie Evans said she likes the buyer’s plans for the building’s future.

“The building is going to a good purpose, too, on top of it,” Evans said. “I feel like that’s going to be good for the community because I know there was concern.”

Those plans have not yet been made public, however.

Board members told Evans that she was referencing information discussed during an executive session, which is closed to the public.

“[Those will] be things that come out in the future,” board member Alan Zantout said.