5 acres in Centerville may be given back for needed school
Nearly half of a 10-acre parcel in Centerville the Fremont Unified School District sold to the city almost 30 years ago soon may be ceded back to the district so it can build a needed elementary school.
And the rest of the property could then be developed into a park.
Fremont officials said at a recent joint meeting of district and city representatives that some of the preliminary approvals needed from state authorities to complete such a deal have been secured.
The empty lot covered with wild grasses and flowers is bordered by Eggers Drive and Hastings Street, and abuts Washington High School’s baseball field as well as Centerville Community Park.
It’s known among school officials as the Williamson site because it once was occupied by a continuation school named after local news reporter Gladys Williamson, who covered the area for the Oakland Tribune.
Schools Superintendent Jim Morris said another school is badly needed because nearby Parkmont Elementary School is severely overcrowded and the district expects to run out of space for 600 to 800 students within five years.
“Parkmont currently can’t handle the students that live in that area, so we know the long-term solution is we have to have another school somewhere in that downtown area that will provide Parkmont relief,” Morris said.
He added that the school would help absorb students from the many residential developments planned for the city’s central area.
“This is really a perfect location to do that, to really help the school district out, and find a solution for Parkmont community,” he said.
Funding for a school likely would come out of $150 million in Proposition 51 bond money the district expects to receive and plans to spend on construction and renovation of school buildings.
Although the city announced its intention to give the land to the district nearly a year ago, financial and contractual strings to the plot made divvying it up difficult.
The city plans to give 4.6 acres to the district for the school and to develop the remaining 5.4 acres into a jointuse park to be used by the school during school hours and the public at other times, according to Roger Ravenstad, the city’s park planning and design director.
When the city bought the district property in 1988 it hoped to someday expand Centerville Community Park and has been saving up park funds to do so.
The property was purchased with a combination of $1.9 million in city funds, $2.5 million in East Bay Regional Park District Measure AA bond money and a state grant of $482,000, Fremont Assistant City Manager Jessica Von Borck said.
Because the land was designated for park use, the city must satisfy certain obligations to various agencies and comply with laws that protect park space from being lost.
It plans to use $5.5 million in park fees and city capital improvement funds to develop another community park at the corner of Dusterberry Way and Peralta Boulevard, where a former car dealership and showroom were located.
The city also will need to make up for the 4.6 acres of parkland going to the school district, and Ravenstad said it is considering an empty parcel it owns at the corner of Stevenson Boulevard and Paseo Padre Parkway for that purpose.
That parcel is adjacent to the Fremont Main Library and connects to Central Park. Ravenstad said his department hopes to present the idea to the Fremont City Council in the fall. There’s no timeline or funding identified yet for converting the space to a park.
While the city has received early approval from the state Department of Parks and Recreation, the deal for splitting up the land and creating parks must be approved by the Legislature, possibly next month or in July, Ravenstad said.
Ravenstad said he hopes to have the bulk of the plans approved by the middle of next year.