Members of the Weatherly Area School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to reject tax breaks for a project that would redevelop the former Schwab school.

Assistance to the developer would have taken the form of a 10-year property tax abatement under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program.

The $11.3 million project was proposed by the Alliance for Building Communities, a Lehigh Valley-based nonprofit.

Plans call for putting 12 two-bedroom apartments in the former Weatherly High School on Spring Street, tearing down an adjacent deteriorated gymnasium and building 18 one-bedroom apartments in a new 16,000-square-foot addition.

Total construction cost was listed at $7.4 million.

The former school, vacant since 1991, is owned by Weatherly Borough and would be donated to the developer. It has been appraised at $105,000 and is in an area deemed blighted.

At a meeting in April, school board members spent 75 minutes listening to both sides of the issue.

Weatherly Borough Manager Harold Pudliner said that the borough had given its permission, and the Carbon County commissioners were awaiting the decision of the school board.

All taxing entities have to sign off on LERTA projects.

Brad Fatzinger, ABC’s executive director, said the firm needed the LERTA to show “positive cash flow” with the $9.7 million in equity from RBC Capital Markets and $858,232 in PennHomes funds.

Residents questioned whether a market existed for the apartments. Rents would range from $837-$976 per month for a one-bedroom unit to $836-$1,200 for the two-bedroom units, a consultant said at the meeting.

Many of the residents also questioned giving the developer tax breaks, saying their tax burdens continue to rise.

State Sen. David Argall and Rep. Doyle Heffley supported the tax breaks for the project.

In a letter dated March 18, the lawmakers said: “We are hopeful that you too see the benefits of removing blight from this 30-year vacant building that dominates the skyline of Weatherly borough. This project will not only save but repurpose the former school to support the community’s housing needs.”

The letter concluded, “Without your positive action, we fear the building will meet its final demise.”

At the April meeting, Pudliner estimated that tearing down the building would cost $2 million.