A California court will decide how much the Gilroy Unified
School District will pay for 10 acres in southwest Gilroy, and the
price tag could be more than $5 million.
Gilroy – A California court will decide how much the Gilroy Unified School District will pay for 10 acres in southwest Gilroy, and the price tag could be more than $5 million.
The district filed papers to begin the eminent domain process with the Filice family after two years of negotiating, and school officials expect to take possession of the property as soon as today.
“We’re moving forward with the plans,” said Superintendent Edwin Diaz. “We’re on a tight timeline.”
In late June, the GUSD board voted to acquire the parcel dubbed the “Greenfield site,” through eminent domain. District officials formally filed last week with the Santa Clara Superior Court.
“The expectation is that we will take possession this week,” said Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Steve Brinkman. “You take legal possession and then you begin to negotiate prices. It could take months.”
The parcel is part of the Glen Loma Ranch Development project – where 1,700 homes will be built over the next decade – and located on the corner of Luchessa Avenue and Greenfield Drive. It will serve as home to the district’s newest elementary school – replacing the aging Las Animas School, and is slated to open for the fall of 2007. The new school does not yet have a name.
Reasoning behind moving the elementary school across town is due to an increase in attendance in the southwestern region. Money from the sale of the old Las Animas school site is expected to pay for a part of the cost.
Originally, the school was scheduled to open in 2006 with a capacity for 1,000 students. Delays in acquiring land for the new school pushed the date back.
For the past two years GUSD officials have been negotiating with the Filice family to acquire the property. However, after three separate appraisals conducted by the GUSD, a price has yet to be agreed upon.
Values have ranged from an estimated low of $2.5 million to a high of $5.65 million. The most recent appraisal will not be available until Aug. 26.
GUSD board members approved plans earlier this month to use a similar two-story design for the new elementary school as that of the new Eliot Elementary School opening next week.
According to recent estimates in district’s Facilities Master Plan, construction of the new elementary school is expected to cost about $24 million – $7.5 million more than initially calculated.
“It’s a friendly condemnation,” explained Wendy Rooney who serves as the City’s Community Development Director. “We strongly encouraged them to pursue that site,” she said, citing its location in a neighborhood as a reason.
Previously, the district had considered building on a nearby parcel donated by local garlic magnate Don Christopher. But its location near busy roads, and the fact that the Greenfield parcel was already zoned caused GUSD officials to reopen negotiations with the Filice family.
The price of the land could fluctuate higher or lower than the GUSD figures depending on court findings as to how the property will be valued.
Dirt piles have already appeared on the site – a sign of the construction to come.
“We’ve actually granted them license to go out and do some engineering on the site,” said John Filice of the Glen Loma Group, which owns the land.
While the cost of the land is still up in the air, survey work and site engineering will now begin.
“What we’re going to do is design, get the plans approved by (Department of State Architects) and go to bid,” he said. “I don’t think we’ll be bidding until about January.”
On July 28, the school district applied to the city for a General Plan amendment and rezoning of the current Las Animas School site to medium density residential. The move will ultimately increase the value of the property if the district receives residential building permits.
According to GUSD officials, the old Las Animas site will be up for sale in 2007.
The switch from a one-story design to a two-story plan developed by Kasavan Architects of Salinas is expected to save the district about $6 million in material and development costs. Under the two-story design less steel and roofing materials will be used.
Because the district is using virtually the same design, they have negotiated an agreement with the architect and only have to pay for a portion of the cost.
“It wouldn’t be as expensive as building from scratch,” Brinkman explained.
The new elementary school will have two additional kindergarten classrooms than the new Eliot School and will be adapted for the Greenfield site.
There is an additional benefit to using a similar plan: “We know all of the pitfalls,” Brinkman explained. “We’ve had a live dry run. We have a lot more knowledge now … with one little wrinkle – every site is different.”
Construction alone should cost about $14.4 million, though that figure does not include soft costs such as inspection fees.
“When we’re done … There’s no doubt in my mind that we’ll have some of the best facilities around,” Superintendent Diaz said.
