What are Perseus House Charter School's plans for vacant Quin-T property in east Erie?

An Erie charter school is eyeing the now-vacant former Quin-T Tech Paper and Boards property on Erie’s east side for a multimillion-dollar expansion of its campus.

The Erie County Redevelopment Authority has entered into a $142,683 purchase option agreement with the Perseus House Charter School of Excellence, headquartered at 1511 Peach St., for the Quin-T property near East 16th and Ash Streets, said Tina Mengine, the authority’s executive director.

The property purchase is contingent upon the Redevelopment Authority completing a full environmental cleanup of the site, both Mengine and Renee Gordon, the charter school’s chief administrative officer, told the Erie Times-News.

That process could take an additional year, or longer, to complete.

The authority owns the Quin-T site and has been overseeing demolition, redevelopment and environmental cleanup at the property, a vacant industrial site where hazardous/toxic material sat abandoned for decades.

What are the charter school's plans for the Quin-T site?

The school plans to spend up to $12 million, Gordon said, to create a “student health and recreation center” at the site that would include a gymnasium, event space, outdoor soccer/athletic fields, an outdoor kitchen and other amenities.

Gordon said the school has conducted a feasibility study regarding the project. Public grants, bank financing and a private fundraising campaign are all being considered as potential funding sources for the project, Gordon said.

Both charter school students/faculty and the community would have access to the facilities, Gordon said.

“We’re looking to make an impact downtown, and the neighborhood is close to where we’re (currently) located and it’s important to us,” Gordon said.

“It’s the neighborhood that a lot of our students come from,” Gordon continued. “We’re all about collaboration, and we want the neighborhood to thrive.”

Mengine added: “We need to get it cleaned up and we acknowledge that. But we’re excited about this project. It could be great for the community.”

Cleanup progresses: 'Huge' underground storage tanks being removed at vacant Quin-T property in east Erie

The Perseus House Charter School of Excellence, which started in 2003 is a public school celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Chartered by the Erie School District, the Charter School of Excellence operates three separate schools: the Discovery Center, a middle school at 1307 French St. in the Lovell Place complex; the Skills Center for high school students, at the same location; and the Leadership Center for high school students at 1511 Peach St.

The Charter School of Excellence’s three schools serve roughly 575 students, according to the school’s website. Perseus House enrolls no elementary school students.

Quin-T cleanup: 'whatever it takes'

The Quin-T site is also located in a state-designated Environmental Justice area, defined by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection as any census tract where 20% or more of the residents live at or below the federal poverty line or where 30% of the population identifies as a non-white minority.

Environmental justice is the social movement to address concerns about the potential exposure of poor and marginalized communities to harm from hazardous waste, resource extraction and other environmental issues.

In the census tract that includes the Quin-T property, 51% of residents live below the federal poverty level, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, which is more than three times greater than the overall Erie County poverty rate of 16%.

Nearly 60% of those who live there identify as non-white.

Mengine said that before the sale can be finalized, additional soil and groundwater testing must still be done at the Quin-T site, which closed in 2005. She said that testing could take a year or longer to complete.

Cleanup would also likely include full clearance of debris from property; removal of toxic substances; and/or new topsoil at the site.

The property has an industrial history that dates back to 1890. Asbestos millboard, a cardboard-like product that can be inserted between metal to produce gaskets, was once manufactured there.

Some demolition work began at the property in 2016; the bulk of the demolition work and environmental remediation, including asbestos removal, began in April 2021.

Slightly more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars have so far been spent on demolition and environmental cleanup at the property. The county Redevelopment Authority paid $10,000 for the site in 2021.

Mengine said the agreed-upon sales price of $142,683 between the authority and the Perseus House Charter School of Excellence reflects, in part, “what we’re putting into the property” in terms of environmental cleanup.

The Erie Times-News reported in July that tons of potentially dangerous materials were left inside both the dilapidated, unsecured Quin-T site and another vacant industrial property the county Redevelopment Authority owns, the former Erie Malleable Iron site at 603 W. 12th St.

Materials left behind at the properties included asbestos and chemicals/substances that have been linked to various cancers.

Danger zones: Asbestos, toxic chemicals among hazards left at Erie's Quin-T, EMI sites

The EMI site is currently being demolished. The publicly funded cost of demolition and cleanup there exceeds $2.2 million.

“We know we have to get the property to Act 2 standards under our agreement with the charter school,” Mengine said. ”We intend to do whatever it takes to complete that.”

Mengine said the charter school’s pursuit of the Quin-T site makes sense.

“The property is close to their other locations, and we think it’s a great project that can have real benefits for the community,” Mengine said.

Mengine added that the sales agreement stipulates that the county Redevelopment Authority will complete remediation which meets the highest standards of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Act 2 program, which governs environmental cleanup of former industrial sites.

An Act 2 cleanup would allow for the type of usage the Charter School of Excellence plans at the property.

Gordon, the charter school’s chief administrative officer, said school officials have discussed their plans with Erie Mayor Joe Schember and officials at the Erie Housing Authority.

There are roughly 130 public housing units in the neighborhoods adjacent to the Quin-T property.

City of Erie supports charter school's plans

Schember’s administration supports the Charter School of Excellence’s plans for the Quin-T property.

"We think an expansion of the Charter School of Excellence in that neighborhood is a great reuse of the Quin-T property," Schember said.

He has publicly called the abandonment of the Quin-T site "a travesty" and applauded the county Redevelopment Authority for launching cleanup efforts there — something the private sector is often unwilling or unable to do at large industrial sites because remediation can be costly.

Gordon agreed; she said the Charter School of Excellence could not afford to clean up the site on its own.

Schember’s administration had suggested revamping the Quin-T property as a large public park, using American Rescue Plan monies and other funding.

However, Schember said that since the charter school plans to allow community access to the proposed new amenities, “I’m good with it and I fully support what they want to do.

“The school’s plans would put that property to a good, productive use,”  Schember said. “And it benefits kids. That’s another positive.”

Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Why an Erie charter school wants to buy the vacant Quin-T property