Palo Alto releases details on community center negotiations

Responding to community demands for more transparency ahead of what promises to be a tight election, Palo Alto’s city and school officials on Monday released previously undisclosed details about their negotiations over Cubberley Community Center land.

According to a statement, the city is preparing to pay to the school district slightly more than what its own appraisal showed the property is worth. Yet it would also pay far less than the district had initially hoped for, based on potential interest from private parties.

The City Council and the school board had each expressed unanimous support for Measure J, which would allow the city to make upgrades to the dilapidated community center at 4000 Middlefield Road while providing funds to the district to make infrastructure improvements to its own facilities.

The property sale is at the heart of Measure J. If voters approve the measure, they would authorize the city to raise the local sales tax by 0.5%, which would raise about $15.6 million per year. Even though the measure is a general tax that gives the city flexibility over what to fund, councilmembers had committed in an accompanying resolution to using the money on Cubberley.

Specifically, the city is looking to buy 7 acres of land at the 35-acre campus and combine it with the 8 acres the city already owns. If the measure passes, the city will buy the land for $65.5 million and then proceed with an ambitious renovation of Cubberley, which will include new theaters, a new gym and other amenities.

While the city and the district did not release the actual appraisal, the joint statement aims to summarize the parameters of the negotiations. According to the statement, the district’s asking price for the 7-acre parcel was $90 million, which reflected the site’s potential value to interested third-party organizations under a long-term lease, including possible use as a private school.

The city’s initial offer was significantly lower, according to the statement. It was based on its 2024 property appraisal of the Cubberley land, which priced it between $43.6 million and $60.2 million. The statement said valuing the property is “imprecise due to a lack of comparable sites.” It also noted that the community center is zoned for public facility use and state law prioritizes public agency buyers.

“Following protracted negotiations, the City and District ultimately agreed on a purchase price of $60.65 million (2024 dollars), equivalent to the $65.5 million 2027 purchase price,” the statement read.

Mayor Vicki Veenker, who worked with the school district and her council colleagues to authorize the release of the information, said Monday that the two bodies “worked together once again to provide more than just a number.”

“Transparency on this issue is important to residents and voters, so I want to thank colleagues and school board members, all of whom supported this disclosure,” Veenker said.

City polls show the vote over Cubberley could be close. In May, shortly before the council voted to place the sales tax on the ballot, the city’s polling consultant showed just more than 50% of the city’s likely voters supporting the measure.

The city has not released the full appraisal, treating it as confidential information relating to real estate negotiations. Opponents of Measure J seized on this point in their official argument against the measure.

“We don’t even know how the $65.5 million price for the property was determined,” states the argument, which is co-signed by former Mayor Lydia Kou, resident Jeanne Fleming and the Silicon Valley Taxpayer Association. “It was established behind closed doors. City Hall refuses even to provide an appraisal of the property.”

Shortly after releasing the limited information, the city council approved a deal with two Cubberley tenants who want to partner with the city on capital improvements that would allow them to expand their spaces. The two nonprofit groups are HeartFit for Life, which provides cardiac rehabilitation programs, and Avenidas, the city’s primary provider of services for older adults. Avenidas has two Palo Alto locations, its main headquarters on Bryant Street and the Chinese Community Center at Cubberley, which opened in 2018.

The letter of intent between the city and Avenidas cites the growth in Palo Alto’s older adult population and an “increasing need for accessible, appropriately designed, and geographically distributed space to support aging well.” The expanded Avenidas facility would include social services offices, program rooms, gathering spaces and administrative functions, according to the letter.

“While Avenidas has operated the Avenidas Chinese Community Center at Cubberley since 2018, current facilities do not fully meet the needs of older adults in Palo Alto due to distance, accessibility, and space limitations,” the letter states. “Establishing dedicated space at Cubberley would significantly improve equitable access to services, enhance safety and accessibility, and allow expansion of programs that reduce isolation, improve health outcomes, and support residents in remaining active members of the community.”

Under the terms, the city and Avenidas would work together to raise money for the needed improvements, relying on philanthropy, grants and other external revenue sources.

Kristina Lugo, CEO of Avenidas, said her organization is excited to bring together community partners to improve Cubberley.

“We are very interested in creating a more unified experience for older adults in our community, expanding access, coordination and impact for those we serve,” Lugo said.

While Avenidas is hoping to expand, HeartFit for Life is primarily concerned with long-term stability. The organization has been operating in Palo Alto since 1970 and has spent the past 23 years at Cubberley, where it rents space.

Through its partnership, it is seeking space at Cubberley that would be used exclusively by HeartFit for Life on a long-term basis, even if a portion of this space could be shared with the city, Avenidas or another tenant. The organization would “undertake a fundraising effort to raise a substantial portion of the expected capital development costs for (its) dedicated space at Cubberley,” the letter states.

Brian Smiley, board president at HeartFit for Life, said he enthusiastically supports the new partnership.

“Cubberley is the beating heart of the HeartFit community,” Smiley said. “We look forward to the city council accepting our letter of intent as HeartFit continues to work to empower hearts and transform lives of Palo Altans at Cubberley Community Center.”