The Phoenixville Area School Board has voted 5-3 to sell the school district’s Kindergarten Center, a one-story school that was built in 1958 but has been closed since 2017, to Toll Brothers for $4.6 million, writes Holly Herman for Phoenixville Patch. 

Toll Brothers plans to build townhouses at the 7.4-acre lot at 100 School Lane. The Chester County Court must approve the sale before any planning can begin.

The vote had been delayed four times, as certain board members wanted additional time to review before they voted.

The community has been divided over whether to sell the property to a developer or preserve it as open space. The borough had offered to pay $1.8 million to turn it into green space and a STEM center.

The Phoenixville Green Team, a group of volunteers advocating for a greener community, presented a petition asking for more time to review the sale. Its members fear that if the property is sold to a developer, there will be an increase in noise and light pollution, traffic, and loss of open space ecosystem services.

Read more about the property at Phoenixville Patch.