Board to Solicit Bids for Knob Hill Land

The will move forward with a plan to solicit bids for the lease of its property at 320 Knob Hill Ave., the Board of Education decided during its meeting Tuesday.

The property—formerly the site of Patterson Elementary School—has been at the center of multiple negotiations ever since the city declined to renew its lease.

On Tuesday, the school board filled in the blanks on two resolutions concerning the property—one that makes the property available for lease by public agencies and one that makes the property available for lease by everyone else, should no public agency show interest.

After some discussion, the board decided the minimum annual lease payment for the property would be $450,000, and the lease term would be for a minimum of 30 years and up to 99 years, the maximum allowed by law.

The $450,000 minimum lease payment would increase yearly by an amount to be determined in negotiations between the Board of Education and the successful bidder.

Private bids for the lease will be due April 24, the board decided. After receiving the bids, the board would adjourn to a May 1 meeting.

"We need to really scrutinize who's throwing out the bids," Gamut said. The most recent negotiations with a local developer who wanted to build affordable apartments on the property fell apart after opponents invoked Measure DD, a slow-growth measure that forces major zoning changes to go to a popular vote.