Former grammar site school for sale in Montara

Located at 496 Sixth St. in Montara, the two-story 9,763-square-foot building has seen a variety of uses over the past 100-plus years. After the grammar school closed in the 1950s, it was sold to an entomologist, Owen Bryant, who used the property to store his collection of 195,000 insect specimens. Bryant later donated the estate and insect collection to San Francisco’s Academy of Sciences, which then sold the property to the Fuller family in the 1960s. The Fullers rented the building out as a hang-glider factory and residential home as well as a wedding and events venue for many years before selling it to the current owner, Susan Hayward, for $606,000 in 1995. To this day, Hayward lives in the building, which doubles as her ballet dance studio, and she also hosts a handful of weddings each year on the property.

“It’s definitely one of the most unusual properties I’ve listed,” said Coldwell Banker agent Runa Magowan. “It’s a very unique property because of its historic status.”

The building was officially designated as historic by San Mateo County, Magowan said.

Sitting on a 40,000-square-foot property divided into eight lots and surrounded by single-family homes, the building contains an auditorium that can accommodate more than 100 and an elevated stage where the ballet performances would take place. Adjacent to the auditorium is a large patio and gardens with heritage trees and a gazebo. There are four bedrooms, two full bathrooms and two partial bathrooms, a spacious dining room and living room with a wood-burning fireplace. The second floor features a full kitchen and the first floor a catering kitchen. There is also an in-law suite with one bedroom, one bathroom, a yard and private entry plus a two-car garage and driveway.

The bedrooms and kitchen are converted classrooms, two of which are still home to original chalkboards from the building’s grammar school days.

Magowan said the property has been well maintained over the years: a new roof was installed in 2003 along with a skylight and copper dome on the cupola and the original redwood floors are in good standing.

The property offers fantastic views of the coastline, she added.

Magowan said the mixed-use property has generated interest from a variety of potential buyers and could be a great fit for a school, veterans’ home or residence, among other uses.

“The property has such potential for amazing uses that it’s intriguing for people who think out of the box and the Bay Area has many people who think out of the box and like to preserve historical sites,” she said. “It’s such a unique property and the potential to sell the different lots adds to the intrigue.”

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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