Groups says Sacramento city school district tried to fast-track behind-the-scenes deal to sell public land
Now, three developers vying for suddenly popular Midtown real estate
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| This old schoolhouse is popular lately. Two developers want to build housing and hotels. Another group wants to build a Native American cultural center. The latter group accused the school board of fast-tracking a secret deal. |
An empty lot and a long-vacant schoolhouse are the most contentious pieces of real estate in Midtown this week.
The Sacramento City Unified School District owns the property at N and 16th streets. On Thursday, May 8, the school board was scheduled to meet and discuss the sale and transfer of the 1.2 acre property to The Hodgson Company.
Developer John Hodgson hopes to build a $40 million mixed-use project on the site. Befitting the recent trend of urban infill on 16th Street, it would be called The Jefferson Midtown—named after the old elementary school on the site—and would include housing and retail.
The problem with the May 8 meeting, however, was that it was scheduled to be closed to the public.
That was an issue for the Sacramento Native American Health Center, which also wants to purchase the property at 1619 N Street to build a cultural center.
The group argued that the private meeting was part of a school-board plan to fast-track the Jefferson proposal without public transparency. SNAHC’s Britta Guerrero told SN&R that, until recently, the board was unwilling to hear their proposal and instead appeared to be moving forward with the Jefferson project behind the scenes.
“We just would like our proposal to get equal consideration,” she says she told the district in early April. Guerrero was worried because a similar effort to repurpose the Fremont School for Adults in Midtown into a performance-arts facility was finalized by the district without a public request for proposals.
In a memo to the school district on April 23, an attorney representing SNAHC urged the board to slow down and consider both plans in a public meeting. “The District has a duty, as do all public agencies, to be good stewards of the public’s capital assets and to promote public transparency.”
SNAHC thinks they have the stronger project. In partnership with Domus Development, the group hopes to redevelop the block as a Native American cultural headquarters, complete with health-care amenities, affordable housing, an events venue and education classrooms. They have the support of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and Congresswoman Doris Matsui, among others.
Currently located on J Street in Midtown, SNAHC wants to buy the former school-board headquarters from the district and says they’re willing to pay fair market value.
After SNAHC’s lawyers accused the school district of streamlining the competing Jefferson bid Sacramento News & Review - Groups says Sacramento city school district tried to fast-track behind-the-scenes deal to sell public land - News - Local Stories - May 8, 2014: