The Provo School District Board of Education approved the sale of the Provo High School property at 1125 N. University Ave. to BYU Tuesday morning in a unanimous vote.
The sale will include 25 acres, including the facilities on the site, for $25 million. BYU has not made any long-term plans for the use of the property.
“Through these many decades, Provo High School has been a good neighbor to BYU,” said BYU President Kevin J Worthen. “We wish the students, faculty and administration well as they carry on the traditions and achievements of Provo High in its new location.”
Board President Julie Rash said they talked to multiple interested parties and explored other offers deeply. “We didn’t just take a glance,” said Rash. “We were extremely interested in making the best decision for the district, and ultimately that ended up being selling the property to BYU.”
Provo High School students will continue to attend the University Avenue location, with the university agreeing to rent the facilities and grounds, including the stadium complex, for 30 months at no cost to the district while construction on the new school is underway.
Rash said she is very excited about the negotiations between the board and the university.
“(BYU’s) offer was generous … the number itself was very generous in and of itself, but working with BYU gave us a couple of added advantages that weren’t necessarily an option for other interested parties,” Rash said. “One, we can close this deal right away … With some of these other prospective offers there wasn’t as much certainty … BYU is in a position to allow us to use the building that we need while the new building is being built. The $25 million is not only a generous offer but allows us to move forward with certainty and to house our students and educate our students.”
Provo High School was built in 1952. In December 2015, the board announced that Provo High School would be moving to district-owned property on Lakeshore Drive in west Provo.
The new Provo High School site will have its groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Lakeshore Drive location.
