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The Ravenswood City School District board is set to vote an agreement with a developer that would bring between 400 and 450 affordable housing units to its district office site at 2120 Euclid Ave. in East Palo Alto.
The agreement, which the school board reviewed at its Sept. 14 meeting, lays out a vision in which a five-story, all-affordable housing project would be built at the district-owned property. The units would give preference for Ravenswood City School District (RCSD) teachers and staff, according to the terms of the agreement, granting a 99-year ground lease with developer USA Properties.
The proposal retains district ownership of the land as well as a 50% profit sharing agreement. The base rent for the property will start at $1.6 million.
The plan is similar to the agreement for housing on the site of the James Flood Magnet School in Menlo Park, which is smaller in scale and envisions 80 to 90 affordable units for the site. The Flood School proposal was wracked with political controversy, with many neighbors at odds with the school district over the number of units and concerns about potential traffic impacts.
The debate led to the controversial Measure V ballot initiative in Menlo Park last year, which sought to put all rezoning of single-family lots, including the Flood School site, to a citywide vote.
William Eger, RCSD’s chief business officer, said that the district will keep a close watch on the housing needs of its teachers and staff, possibly by conducting a survey, in order to tailor options for them to live closer to where they work.
The district office was originally under an agreement with a New York-based company that sought to build a seven- or eight-story life science lab and office project, but after the two parted ways, the RCSD decided to use the property for housing.
In order to make room for the affordable housing project, the district is planning to construct a new office building on Bay Road, next to the district’s Bay Road Community Hub. The community hub is planned to be completed this December.
“It’s also important for us to really hone in on the fact that housing is a desperate need in our region and in our community, and this district is taking initiative to address some of these needs that we see directly from our constituents,” Board President Jenny Varghese Bloom said.
The RCSD board is set to vote on the proposed agreement on Thursday, Sept. 28.