College will save an estimated $20 million or more for Coyote
Valley land
Gilroy – Gavilan College will save an estimated $20 million or more on land for a satellite campus in Coyote Valley, according to purchase figures released by school officials.
The tentative sales agreement with John A. Sobrato, who owns a Bay Area development company, will provide the school with 55 acres for $18-million – roughly $327,000 per acre.
“We had one quote from another company, though the land was zoned differently, that had land available in that area, and the lowest price was a million dollars an acre,” Gavilan President Steve Kinsella said.
Voters approved a nearly $40-million bond measure for the purchase of land for two satellite campuses. While the Coyote site came in more than double the projected amount, a deal with Hollister landowner Ken Gimelli for a second campus near the Hollister Airport saved the district more than $8 million over projections. That deal involved the sale of 85 acres for roughly $4 million.
Kinsella said the school’s board of trustees, expected to sign off on the land agreements Monday night, would likely give naming rights to both Gimelli and Sobrato, who sold the land to Gavilan at rates significantly below market value.
Gavilan’s plans for a Coyote Valley campus have pitted school officials against members of the Coyote Valley Specific Plan Task Force, a group composed largely of San Jose officials and landowners. Coyote planners envisioned the 55 acres, located by IBM headquarters off Bailey Road, as part of the economic hub for a future community of 80,000 residents.
Kinsella has stood firm in the face of complaints by Coyote planners to relocate the future campus, arguing the school must safeguard the educational interests of the region.
“The important thing we’d like folks to be aware of is, it allows Gavilan College to secure opportunities for educational services for all of South County residents and San Benito residents,” he said of the two land deals. “Thirty, forty, fifty years from now, residents will have the same opportunities elsewhere that we now offer in Gilroy.”
The board of trustees will vote on approval of the land purchases at 7pm on Jan. 10 at Gavilan College’s Student Center, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd.
