Dublin City Schools pauses plan to buy Cardinal Health building for $37 million

DUBLIN, Ohio (WCMH) — Dublin City Schools is pausing an agreement with Cardinal Health to buy the healthcare provider’s headquarters for $37 million to serve as a new high school.

The district announced during a Monday board of education meeting it is pausing “all planned actions,” halting a nonbinding agreement with Cardinal to buy the company’s 250,000-square-foot west campus headquarters at 7200 Cardinal Place. John Marschhausen, superintendent of Dublin schools, said the decision came after the city’s planning commission signaled they were unsupportive of the zoning changes needed to repurpose the building.

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“It would be irresponsible for the district to continue investing in the analysis of the Cardinal Health West building given the feedback we’ve received,” said Marschhausen. “There are two critical changes required for us to use the building as an educational space: zoning and code changes. At this point, the time, collaboration, and financial commitment necessary to enact those changes outweigh the potential benefits.”

In a statement to NBC4, Cardinal said while it is “disappointed in the city of Dublin’s recent comments,” the healthcare provider remains “committed to working together with them and Dublin City Schools to find a solution that will provide greatly needed educational resources while also saving the Dublin taxpayers over $100 million.”

Dublin schools had entered into the purchase agreement earlier this year, which allowed the district more than a year to determine if the building can be effectively configured to serve as a school. However, the Dublin Planning and Zoning Commission spoke against the idea during an Aug. 8 meeting and argued that rezoning the site from office to academic use would not align with the city’s “Envision Dublin” community plan, which went into effect Aug. 1.

“We are eight days into the plan. To recommend violating the plan, eight days in, after having 18 months of planning where Dublin City Schools was at the table and planning right along with us, I don’t think that would be what the city council is looking for,” said Rebecca Call, chair of the planning and zoning commission, during the meeting.

Marschhausen said the district had been weighing purchasing the building given the district is expecting an increase of 2,000 more high school students over the next eight to 10 years. The potential acquisition of the Cardinal building was one of several options under consideration as part of a broader strategy to manage this growth, he said.

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During the Aug. 8 meeting, Marschhausen argued Cardinal’s building made the most financial sense given the cost to build a high school would be more than $200 million. The superintendent also noted that the $145 million bond issue and 7.9 mill operating levy that passed last year grants the district the authority to issue another $40 million in debt, which would allow Dublin schools to buy the building “without going back to the voters for additional resources.”

However, the city of Dublin noted in a statement on Wednesday that project cost or cost alternatives are not among the criteria that the planning and zoning commission can consider under the city’s codified ordinances. The city said it values a strong partnership with Dublin schools and has been actively involved in the process of evaluating the district’s options.

If the Cardinal Health building is no longer a viable option, Marschhausen said the district “will actively explore other short-term and long-term solutions to meet the challenges of increasing enrollment.”

“We respect the city’s process and deeply value our ongoing partnership with the city of Dublin,” he said. “We have heard and considered the perspectives of the city’s administration and the planning and zoning committee.”

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