With a construction levy headed to voters in February, the Renton School District has been busy buying up properties on a full block in North Renton to prepare for a new elementary school. But two property owners say they are being dealt with unfairly and may end up causing the district to build around them.

In preparation for construction of a new school on the site of the current Sartori Education Center on Garden Avenue, the district has been purchasing all of the land on the block.

However, one homeowner and one neighboring small business have been holding out in hopes of getting more money for their property.

Jeff Colee and Ryan Saffel and Associates, located next to each other on the Park Avenue side of the block, both say the amount offered by the district for their buildings would not be enough to make up for what they are losing by moving.

For Colee, a paraplegic who uses a wheelchair to get around, the issue is both improvements he has made to his house, as well as a potential loss of tax status that he has on his current home that keeps his costs in check.

“I’m planning to stay here forever,” Colee said recently. “I can’t afford to move.”

For Chris Saffel at the business, it is a matter of not being able to find another building in the area at a similar price, as well as the potential loss of business that could happen during a move to a new location.

“All my neighbors don’t need commercial zoning,” Saffel said of his predicament. “I’m a different animal than these other guys that can seek housing a block away.”

Colee moved into his house 28 years ago, about three years before the accident that left him without use of his legs. Since then, he has been making improvements to the house and yard to help get around, as he lives alone.

He has made significant improvements to the bathroom, added ramps to the front and back decks, widened doors and installed ways to help him get from floor to floor inside the house. Outside, there is a garage and yard around which he has poured concrete to allow him to get around as well as mow the grassy areas by himself. He also just installed a new roof on his deck to help prevent water from rolling into the kitchen on his wheels when he lets his dog in and out.

Today, the house is completely paid off and because of a low-income tax rate for seniors, he is taxed at a rate of about $75,000 assessed value (his purchase amount) for as long as he lives there.

“That’s the benefit I get for being here 28 years,” he said, adding that while he would still be eligible for the program, it would lock in at the purchase value of his new home instead of his current rate.

Colee was offered $340,000 for his home, but Colee estimates it would cost him twice that to find a new place and renovate it to his needs.

“It’s hard to find a place where I have as much as I have here,” he said.

Colee also says the neighborhood is perfect for his needs because he can get to The Landing, downtown, Lake Washington, the Cedar River Trail and even Wal-Mart, all with relative ease. He is also on a major bus route.

“Everything’s flat around here. I can go anywhere and do anything,” he said. “Most neighborhoods I can barely go anywhere because of a hill or no sidewalks.”

Saffel and Associates opened in their current location about three years ago, as part of the company’s 20-year business plan. The company and its five employees represent manufacturers, with most of their distribution in the Renton area.

“It’s a good halfway spot for us,” he said.

Saffel said the logistics of moving and the possibility of losing revenue during that time are his biggest concerns.

“This is very disruptive,” he said. “I need to know that if I move, I have enough money to cover everything.”

Saffell said he wants to keep his business in Renton and asked the district’s real- estate agent if he knew of any properties in the area to which he could relocate, but all three examples provided by the agent were for properties