Politics & Government

School Board to Consider Lease for New District Headquarters

The six-year lease, at up to $552,000 per year, includes an option to purchase the property.

Alameda's school board is poised to approve a $552,000-a-year lease for new district headquarters at a special meeting of the Alameda Unified School District Board of Education today.

The six-year lease with Legacy Partners I Alameda, LLC, which includes an option to buy, is for approximately 26,000 square feet of commercial office space at 2060 Challenger Dr., off Marina Village Parkway. The building formerly housed local offices for the Cognex Corporation.

The new space will house about 85 to 90 district employees, according to AUSD Superintendent Kirsten Vital.

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According to the staff report on the lease, "The portion of Historic Alameda High School that houses most of District Office show major structural deficiencies and have the potential of collapsing in the event of a large earthquake ... structural modifications of Historic Alameda High School are necessary to shore up entrances and exits students routinely use. The nature and extent of these modifications, however, render District Office uninhabitable. Even when we complete the seismic retrofitting to save the building, it will probably never be habitable for district employees without great expense."

The report also says, "The unfortunate reality is that we simply do not have room to relocate District Office into existing District facilities, and thus staff recommended leasing commercial space with an option to purchase. In the long run, leasing a building with an option to buy is likely to be fiscally neutral.

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"The lease building would reduce the footprint of District Office from in excess of 40,000 square feet down to approximately 26,000 square feet, representing a significant downsizing and set of sacrifices for District Office employees."

The board ratified a letter of intent for the lease at its June 12 meeting.

The board will meet Friday, July 27, in the Alameda High School cafeteria at the corner of Walnut Street and Central Avenue. The meeting begins with a closed session at 5 p.m.; the public portion of the meeting begins at 6 p.m.

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