Weatherly Borough Council wants to take a closer look at extending a lease deal on the Mrs. C.M. Schwab School and razing the adjacent annex building.

Council on Monday tabled action on extending a lease option with the Lehigh Valley-based nonprofit, the Alliance for Building Communities, which wants to transform the landmark building into apartments.

Solicitor James Nanovic explained that ABC’s new legal counsel wanted a longer lease for financing purposes.

The current lease agreement is for 45 years, he said, and they want the option to extend that for another 30 years.

“For them to pursue this project, they’re asking for this extension,” Nanovic said.

ABC has been trying to secure funding for the $11.3 million renovation and conversion of the historic building since a tax break through the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance program, or LERTA, fell through.

The borough approved the LERTA designation, but the Weatherly Area School District denied it last year in May.

The nonprofit needed the 10-year tax break through LERTA to show a positive cash flow moving forward for the project.

In December, the borough then shifted to the long-term lease agreement with ABC, in which the nonprofit would acquire the building at the end of the lease. The borough had planned to give the building to the nonprofit.

Former Mayor Paul J. Hadzick balked at the idea of a 45-year lease and said that he suggested a 10-year lease to Harold Pudliner, the former borough manager.

“Going 45 years, that’s crazy,” he said at Monday’s meeting. “You’re going to take that off the tax roll for 45 more years. It’s been off the tax rolls. Weatherly Borough has been taking care of that property for years.”

The borough has owned the massive school for at least a decade, and the building has sat dormant for 30 years.

Councilman Joseph Cyburt asked if the borough failed to extend the lease agreement and approve the extension, if that would kill the project.

“That’s what they tell us,” Nanovic replied.

Resident Elizabeth Parker pointed to the lack of progress on the project so far and questioned it moving forward.

“They’ve had how long, and they’ve done nothing,” she said. “So, what’s to say they’re going to do something in the next 45 years. I don’t think we should honor their request. I’m sorry.”

Nanovic clarified that ABC is not leasing the building yet. The nonprofit would have until the end of the year to exercise the option.

“They just have an option to lease it at this point,” the solicitor said.

Hadzick asked about the annex building, which was supposed to be torn down as part of the overall project. The borough acquired a $250,000 grant to raze the building.

“That was included in their initial package that they were going to include demolition,” Borough Manager Tracy Grover said. “It looks like now that the borough will be bidding that out.”

ABC did bid out the demolition, but the bids came in extremely high, she said.

Last year, the borough applied for an additional $500,000 gaming grant through the Local Share Account to raze the annex building. The estimated cost was $750,000 due to the asbestos.

Council did not discuss the status of the gaming grant.

Grover did explain that the nonprofit had been working toward getting the needed investors for the project, as they had to find new investors and shift tax credits for the project to this year.

“They got approval for all of that,” she said.

Mayor/Council President Michael Bellizia asked for a motion to table the project to allow council to get more information together and have a meeting on it. Council tabled the lease option with no one opposed.