The now vacant elementary school at 1 Fairview Ave. in Phillipsburg, NJ.

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ—The Philliipsburg, NJ Board of Education has sold a former elementary school building on Fairview Ave. here and the new owner plans to convert the property to office use.

Commercial brokerage firm NAI James E. Hanson reports that the 8,500-square-foot vacant Howell Elementary School building was sold by the Board of Education to buyer Michael Tzezairlidis.

Originally constructed in 1928 and vacant since 2017, the Phillipsburg Board of Education placed the two-story building on the market with the goal of securing a buyer who could breathe a second life into the space, according to NAI James E. Hanson's Joseph Vindigni who represented the buyer in the transaction.

No financial terms of the transaction were disclosed. The former school building is located on 1.08 acres just off of Route 22 in the heart of Phillipsburg.

The former school property will be home to the new owner's contract embroidery and screen-printing company, which will relocate from Roselle Park, NJ to space on the lower level. Tzezairlidis plans to renovate the main level to provide leasable office space geared towards the arts community that will ultimately create an economic hub from the vacant space.