The members of St. Croix United Church in Bayport have finalized the sale of a 10-acre property on the western edge of Bayport to the Stillwater Area Public School District, a move that paves the way for a new Andersen Elementary School to be built on the site. The sale price was $850,000, which was $150,000 lower than the appraised value of the land, church officials said.
Officials from the church, which was formed last fall when St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Stillwater and People’s Congregational Church in Bayport merged, said they agreed to the lower price because they wanted school district officials to commit to a number of items, including the creation of a 100-seat outdoor classroom that could be used as a gathering space for the church and the community. The new school is expected to open for the 2027-2028 school year.
The reduction in the sale price serves as payment by the church for use of the space for outdoor worship services for 20 years or for more than 20 years, if the lease is extended, church officials said. The space, as described by the lease the church and school entered into, would also be used for other community activities, including festivals and concerts. “We want the space to be a benefit to the entire Bayport-area community,” said Bob Dickie, a member of the church who helped negotiate the lease and purchase agreement.
Other expectations: open spaces on the land would have native plantings and indigenous inhabitants of the St. Cro.