Poway Unified sells surplus property for $7.38 million

By Emily Sorensen

The $7.38 million sale of a 10.8-acre surplus lot in Rancho Bernardo to a company wanting to build a new retirement community was unanimously approved Monday night by the Poway Unified School District board.

AmeriCare Health and Retirement, Inc submitted the highest of three proposals to buy the so-called “water tower” site at 6061 Avenida Venusto. The property is now in escrow, said Supt. John Collins. The proceeds from the sale, after payment of fees, will be added to the district’s general fund for a one-time usage.

AmeriCare’s offer beat two other offers: $7.3 million from SheaHomes AND $6.65 million form Nierman Perlman Properties, Inc. The company plans to build a senior retirement community on the property, similar to their other Silvergate Retirement Residence communities, located in Fallbrook and San Marcos.

The property has been a point of contention between the school district and the City of San Diego. Many Rancho Bernardo residents wished for the city to purchase the property and develop it into a park with sports fields, but the city was unable to come up with the minimum $6.6 million the district was asking for the property.

Though the board was in agreement over the sale, Poway resident Tom Moore disagreed. Through public comment on the issue, Moore stated that he believed that the board’s lack of a marketing plan over selling the property meant they were settling for a lower price. “Less time [selling the property] always means less money,” said Moore.

Moore also expressed concern over the

district selling the property without entitlement, which would have raised the worth of the property to $11 million, not the $6.6 million of the current as-is property. Real estate entitlement is a right that dictates what is allowed to be developed on a certain property and its uses.

The water tower site will need to be rezoned to allow for AmeriCare to build its senior retirement community. The entitlement process is a long and complicated one, sometimes taking as long as two years to be completed.

Collins said that the district had attempted entitlement on the property in the past, but had given up after being repeatedly thwarted by the City of San Diego.

The school district is also beginning the process to open up three additional surplus properties to sale or lease.

After much discussion, the board voted 4-1 to allow the district’s financial and legal team to seek California Department of Education waiver of bid requirements for surplus properties the district owns: the Four Gee Road Site, Torrey Highlands Site and Black Mountain Ranch Southern Site. This will also allow for the district to conduct analyses of the properties, to figure out the value and best uses for them.

Board member Kimberley Beatty expressed concern over the option, which would, if the properties were chosen to be sold, be done through a process known as “request for proposals” (RFP), rather than a public bidding process.

“We owe it to the public to be open and transparent,” said Beatty. “There were questions with the process of water tower property, doing this would be a mistake.” Beatty referred to the RFP process as a “backroom deal.”

Newly elected board President Todd Gutschow disagreed, saying that the RFP process would allow for a marketing plan to be developed. “This would allow us to do what Mr. Moore suggested,” said Gutschow. He added that it didn’t sound like it would be a backroom deal, as there would be a public marketing plan.

Collins said that the district was in no rush to sell the properties, despite a looming January 2016 deadline for allowing the proceeds of property sales to be used for one-time general funds. “Nothing will happen until the reviews [of the properties’ values and best uses] come back,” said Collins. Collins also added that the RFP process is very public. “We’re trying to maximize our assets while making the best school district possible for the kids,” said Collins.

The next step in the process will be a public hearing at the next board meeting, which will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the district office, 15250 Avenue of Science in Carmel Mountain Ranch. Following the public hearing, the applications for the waivers will be submitted to the California Department of Education board.