Seeking a breakthrough after decades of frustrating and largely fruitless negotiations, the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education this month submitted a letter to the city soliciting proposals for the redevelopment of Cubberley Community Center.
Penned by school board member Shounak Dharap on behalf of the full board, the March 10 letter outlines the school district’s goals and challenges when it comes to the redevelopment of Cubberley, a 35-acre campus at 4000 Middlefield Road that includes a gym, a theater, athletic fields and aged buildings that the city leases to artists, studios and nonprofit groups.
The district currently owns 27 acres at Cubberley, which it largely leases to the city, while the city owns the remaining 8 acres. The letter outlines the conditions under which the school district would be willing to make a deal that transfers some of its acreage to…