Madison School District finalizes plans to sell administration property. Here’s who’s buying it

REXBURG – Big changes are in store for Rexburg’s downtown as Madison School District 321 finalizes plans to sell its administration building and surrounding property. It’s being sold to the city of Rexburg, Madison County, and the Rexburg Urban Renewal Agency for a total of $7 million.

The 5.7-acre property at 60 West Main Street has been split into three parcels. Two parcels, including the southernmost section along Main Street that includes the district offices, and a one-acre parcel designated as future public parking, will be sold to the Rexburg URA for future development. The agency will pay $5.7 million for both parcels.

The third parcel, currently a grassy open field on the north end of the property along First North, will be purchased jointly by the City of Rexburg and Madison County, with each set to pay $650,000, for a total of $1.3 million for the 1.54-acre parcel.

The sale is scheduled to close April 30, 2026, but school district offices will remain at the location until the end of the school year.

EastIdahoNews.com sat down with Madison School District 321 Superintendent Randy Lords, Rexburg Chief Financial Officer Matt Neilson, Rexburg Public Information Officer and Director of Economic Development Scott Johnson, Rexburg URA Chair Bill Riggins, and Madison County Commissioner Todd Smith to discuss the sale and future plans for all parties.

Lords says administrative employees will move to available spaces at various school district properties in late May while they prepare for new district facilities.

“We’ll probably be homeless for about 18 months,” Lords says. “We’ll start construction of a new district office in the spring, out on the high school property. We own 170 acres out there by the high school.”

He says that structures to house snow removal and landscaping equipment will be the first priority, to protect the equipment from the elements and preserve longevity.

Lords emphasizes that the school district will not seek a bond for the construction of new administration facilities. Funds for the construction will come from the sale of the current property, plus some money from the Idaho Department of Education’s School Modernization fund.

Riggins says once the school district employees have moved out of the building, the Rexburg URA plans to begin asbestos abatement before demolishing the building to prepare the property for new development.

“This is the entrance of our city,” Riggins says. “We felt that this piece of property is so visible that it needs to have a beautiful facelift to it. It needs to be a well-designed, well-used piece of property for our city.”

One potential use of the property could be similar to Rexburg’s Hemming Village, with businesses on the ground floor and residences above.

“Most importantly, we have control of what will go there,” Riggins says. “It hasn’t just been sold to some random builder who decides to come in and do something that’s not going to benefit the city as a whole.”

Riggins says the Rexburg URA plans to court development that will allow for more walkable commerce in a city that has a high percentage of student residents without vehicles.

“The idea is, we still want the students to leave their cars at home and not bring them here,” he says. “But if they’re going to do that, then downtown needs to be a place that they can walk to.”

Riggins says the purchase of the property is a worthwhile investment for the URA, as future development on the land will bring more business to city tax rolls.

“From my perspective, it’s a win-win-win,” Riggins says. “Its a win for the city as a whole–puts it back on the tax rolls. It’s a win for development in the sense that we have control of what’s going to go there, and it’s a win also for our educational system. The money that we spent isn’t just going to a public developer, it’s going to our school district.”

While The Rexburg URA is affiliated with the City of Rexburg and works with the city to accomplish long-term city planning, the agency’s budget is separate from the city’s, with funds coming from tax increment financing. Funds for the purchase of the school district property will come from the Downtown/Hemming Village Urban Renewal District, established by city ordinance in December 2003 for a duration of 24 years. Those 24 years will be up at the end of 2027 and the funds must be used by the end of 2028. According to the City of Rexburg’s website, the Rexburg URA is an independent, seven-member commission that oversees redevelopment efforts in Rexburg.

The administration facility was built in 1953, originally as a high school. It transitioned to a junior high school in 1973, and then to administrative headquarters in 2011.

Privately-owned property in the southwest corner of the block, currently occupied by Intrinsic Massage and Bear Lite Media, is not part of the transaction. Riggins says it will be up to future developers to negotiate with those property owners if they want to try to bring that section into future development.

However, the “old seminary building” on First West is owned by the school district and will be part of the sale if it’s still there. Lords says the school district is willing to sell the building for $1, but that the buyer would need to move the building to another property. Lords says he has spoken with several interested buyers. Once all the costs were factored in, no one has decided it’s a wise decision to move forward.

“By the time they pull off the roof, which is tile, the cost just outweighs what any organization can afford or wants to pay,” Lord says.

Anyone interested in purchasing and moving the building can contact him, he says, noting that it will have to be almost completely disassembled to do so. He said the district had considered renovating the building, but it never seemed like a wise use of public funds.

After the sale of the district property closes, it will be up to the Rexburg URA to determine the fate of the seminary building.

As for how the city and county will use the jointly-purchased land on the north end of the district property, Johnson says it can be used for community gathering for now. He says a future use could be to consolidate city and county administration facilities into one location, a plan that aligns with Rexburg’s “City Center Vision 2050” planning efforts.

Johnson said the one-acre parcel in the middle, being sold to Rexburg URA and designated as public parking, will likely have to have a parking garage to accommodate development.

MSD 321 put out a call for bids on the property in 2024. After receiving three bids in September 2024, the school board determined that none were high enough and all three bids were rejected. According to school board meeting records, the city, county, and URA approached the school board with an offer in April 2025. After months of counter offers, terms were agreed upon in September and a purchase agreement was signed by all parties in October.