Crestmoor campus sold for $125 million in San Bruno

Recognizing she was not on the board while officials spent years advancing toward agreeing to sell the campus that was closed decades ago due to declining enrollment, Zuniga said she would not vote on the contract.

But board President Robert Griffin, who has long supported the plan, said he would happily vote in favor.

“I never thought we would get this far. I’m glad to see this day come,” said Griffin, during the board meeting Thursday, Dec. 17.

Trustee Peter Hanley concurred.

“As a person who was very comfortable selling the property and has thought this was the right way to go for a number of years, I am very pleased to see we are at this point right now and I think this is going to move us forward in a number of ways in the district,” he said.

Officials have said they believe the money made from the land deal could be used to finance construction of affordable housing for district teachers. Noting the struggle educators have faced while grappling with the cost of living locally, officials have felt housing could be a useful recruitment and retention asset for good teachers.

Space was made for the deal by officials agreeing to move Peninsula Alternative School, which was the district’s last presence on the Crestmoor site, to a new campus in Burlingame.

Some uncertainty still looms over specific details of the plan though. District officials have neither committed to using the sales revenue for teacher housing, nor identified a site where the units will be developed — however previous discussion have circled around the Mills High School campus in Millbrae.

Additionally, no determination has been made regarding the future of the public soccer fields at the Crestmoor campus. School officials have assured the San Bruno community they will enjoy continued access to fields, however, it is unclear whether the existing athletic facilities will be preserved or if new ones will be built elsewhere.

The fields could ultimately determine the amount of homes built on the site. Of the 40 acres, about 25 of those are suitable for development. Existing zoning allows for up to 40 homes per acre, setting the stage for construction of single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums. Apartment buildings or other forms of dense development are not allowed.

The final sales price for the campus is yet to be finalized as well. The builder could pay as much as $125 million, but that sum would be reduced based on the amount of affordable housing the company is required to build.

According to the contract, if the D.R. Horton is required to set aside 15% or more of the development at an affordable rate, the total sales price would drop to $115 million. If the developer is required to build less than 15% affordable housing, the total sales price would drop by $633,333 for every 1% of the total development that must be affordable.

For example, if 10% of the development is mandated to be affordable, the total sales price would be reduced by $6.3 million to a total of $118.6 million. But if the developer can pay the city of San Bruno in-lieu fees rather than build the affordable units, the original purchase price would be restored to the full $125 million.

Furthermore, if the developer is required to pay prevailing wages to build the project, the additional construction costs would be taken out of the amount paid to the district. The contract stipulates that the reduction based on prevailing wage could not be worth more than $25.5 million.

For their part, district officials noted the deal is not complete because the development must work its way through the public planning process in San Bruno.

Trustee Linda Lees Dwyer, who previously had been critical of the proposal, said she is confident the deal is in the best interest of the district and the community.

“We are doing the right thing with the right people,” she said.

Hanley too expressed confidence in the decision.

“We still have a ways to go and it’s been a very long journey,” he said. “It’s been a number of years to get us to this point, but I’m glad we are here”

In other business, Zuniga was sworn into her first term following her defeat of fellow challenger Neal Kaufman in the fall election, while incumbent Greg Land was sworn into his second term following his re-election. Also Griffin took the president’s position from Marc Friedman, who did not run for re-election.

austin@smdailyjournal.com