A possible sale of the former Crescent View Middle School to Sandy City is moving forward, with both city and Canyons School District leaders saying the site’s future will be a community asset. 

Crescent View ceased normal operation when Draper Park Middle opened in 2013, and since then, the site has been used intermittently for temporary student relocation during school rebuilds and renovations. Since 2024, it has been home to the district’s Life Skills Academy.

Canyons Board of Education unanimously approved a purchase-and-sales agreement to sell the 17.8-acre property at 11150 S. 300 East, adjacent to Crescent Park, for $17 million. The deal includes $100,000 in earnest money, a nine-month due-diligence period and a leaseback that would allow LSA to remain in the building through next school year.

While the agreement is in place, the sale is not yet final. 

“Sandy City will have a nine-month due diligence period where they can inspect the property to make sure it fits in with their long-range goals,” said Leon Wilcox, Canyons business administrator and CFO. 

The city has until early December to complete that process, with closing about three months later, he said.

Sandy City has indicated it intends to keep the property for civic use, though specific plans are still taking shape.

“There’s a lot of potential there,” Sandy City Mayor Monica Zoltanski said. “Right now, it’s in the early phases where we’re assembling ideas.”

Canyons received interest from private developers, but it ultimately supported Sandy City’s proposal in part because of its community-focused vision.

“They want it to stay an asset for the community and that's what we, as a board prefer, it’s the best-case scenario,” said Amber Shill, Canyons Board of Education president. 

Wilcox added: “We received bids from a couple developers, but Sandy City agreed to match the highest offer we received.”

The sale will provide the school district an opportunity to reinvest in other projects, including renovations tied to the district’s new innovation center, which is set to open August 2027.

“We bought our innovation center building, but now we got to do the renovations inside the building to convert it into a school. That’s where the money will go,” Wilcox said.

He said the sale is a decision is not just financial, but also practical. 

 The Crescent View building was used in recent years as a temporary space during school rebuilds and renovations, including Mt. Jordan Middle, Midvale Middle, Eastmont Middle, Peruvian Park and Edgemont elementaries. Additionally, the campus has been used for youth basketball and soccer programs.

“We have rebuilt or are remodeling every one of our eight middle schools, and we have plenty of capacity, so we don't see ever needing the Crescent View building,” Wilcox said. “We think we'll probably have some vacant elementary schools that we can put kids in temporarily with any additional rebuilds. Crescent View was built for about 1,400 middle school kids, so it's hard to justify that for 70 kids for LSA, when there are other spaces for them.”

The agreement is structured to provide stability for LSA post-high school students with differing abilities until district leaders determine a permanent new home.

“We have agreed to rent back the building until the end of June 2027, so they’ll be there all next year,” Wilcox said.

District leaders are exploring potential sites that would support LSA’s program focus on life and job skills, including looking at nearby businesses for internships and public transportation. Wilcox said coordination with UTA and District transportation will be considered with the decision.

Accessibility is key, said LSA Principal Stacey Nofsinger.

“The new location needs to be accessible, that needs to be at the top of the list,” she said. “We’re preparing our students for independent living and having transportation to help them with pre-job readiness will help prepare them for life after school.”

A possible option that has been discussed is relocating LSA to Cottonwood Heights’ Bella Vista Elementary, which will cease operation at the end of this school year. While no final decision has been made, Shill said the board is keeping the students’ needs at the center of the discussion.