The San Antonio Independent School District upped the ante Monday night in its negotiations with developers over a deal to sell its 2-acre parking lot.
Trustees unanimously approved a list of five demands the administration will take to the table when they negotiate with Missions baseball team owners.
In exchange for a parcel of land needed to complete a proposed mixed-use development that would support the cost of a downtown minor baseball league stadium, SAISD wants among other things a new $45 million school building for the district’s Advanced Learning Academy.
The administration asked its board of trustees to sign off on the terms, released to the public last week for comment.
At the Monday night meeting, 55 people signed up to speak, almost all of them on the land sale agenda item. Many of those said they were opposed to the deal and a new downtown stadium altogether.
The four-hour session echoed the district’s Oct. 7 town hall meeting during which people railed against displacing residents from a downtown apartment complex for the new stadium.
Many saw SAISD and the 2.3-acre parking lot on Camaron Street as the last line of defense after both the City and County signed agreements that spelled out how the baseball stadium would be funded.
Weston Urban, the developers who own much of the land needed to build a stadium, had offered SAISD 250 parking spaces in a new garage that would not be owned by the district.
“So we went into this discussion being asked to donate our property for 250 parking spaces,” said Superintendent Jaime Aquino.
That offer did not align with the district’s values, he said, of promoting its educational mission, supporting families, students and staff, and promoting affordable housing.
“We believe that a partnership to expand high-quality education in the downtown area would serve our mutual interest of revitalizing not only the downtown community but also the broader community that serves SAISD, the city of San Antonio and Bexar County,” Aquino said.
SAISD’s “terms” for the sale include funding the construction of a new building for its Advanced Learning Academy at a site to be determined and a parking garage with “safe passage” to the Fox Tech campus.
The district also wants guarantees of more affordable housing, up to 1,250 units, within SAISD’s boundaries to help mitigate already shrinking enrollment that’s contributed to the closure of 13 campuses this year.
Other SAISD demands include a seat on the Houston Street Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone and $400,000 a year to compensate for interest the district says it could have collected by selling the property through other means.
SAISD trustees also approved a Dec. 9 deadline for a response from the Missions.
Several local business leaders said they support both sides coming to an agreement.
“With my extensive experience in construction, I also find it difficult to rationalize why a property, valued at less than 5% on a really good day, of the published SAISD demands, should compromise the well-being of the entire San Antonio community,” said Brad Beldon, CEO of Beldon Roofing, in a letter to trustees.
“Please work with your business community and let’s get this deal done,” said Mario Barrera, a member of the SAISD Foundation board speaking on behalf of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.
Christina Ortiz, who described herself as an SAISD mom, said, “I believe that any opportunity for growth in my city is necessary, and I believe that the business sector has presented us with an incredible opportunity, and it would be silly not to take it.”
But Centro San Antonio, which has supported the downtown stadium proposal, asked trustees to postpone a decision on the terms.
“Any development deal of this size presents challenges that require dialogue and good faith negotiation,” said John Beauchamp, chairman of the board of Centro and president of Hixon Properties.
A number of people spoke at the meeting in support of the Soap Factory residents who will be displaced under the development plan and against the demolition of low-cost housing. Some said they don’t trust the developer or that SAISD will benefit from the baseball stadium.
“I want to make it known not only do I oppose the sale of public land and the displacement of the Soap Factory residents, but to also express my disappointment and disgust for the city of San Antonio as a whole, more directly to our District 1 council representative,” said Isabel Galvan.
Residents of the 381-unit Soap Factory complex will receive relocation assistance ahead of the phased demolition of the complex starting next year. Each of the roughly 190 current households affected by the first phase of demolition could receive a $2,500 relocation package.
“The county projects 12 billion [dollars] will come to the district but we know that is not the reality,” said Drea Garcia, a district resident. “We need assurances that any monies that are earmarked for the district are really enough to permanently fund transformative learning initiatives.”
“I don’t think those promises of the investment, as far as tax returns from the stadium, will be realized,” said Amina Thomas. “I don’t think that minor league baseball is going to bring the crowd so they want an investment that we would need here in downtown.”
Gina Cramer, a member of the Schools Our Students Deserve Coalition and co-chairwoman of the San Antonio chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, urged the trustees to push for more than the proposed terms.
“It’s clear from the original offer that those involved want to give the district as little as possible so why should the district shy away from asking for more?” Cramer said. “Developers are used to getting their way, and so I’m sure it’s been super disorienting for them and the business community to not immediately get what they want. But this is our community, too.”
Teachers and parents of the Advanced Learning Academy said they want the deal to go through. Speaking at the meeting, Parker Dixon said he fears that the stadium proposal could happen without any benefit to SAISD. “Sometimes you just have to play the hand you’re dealt, and it looks like selling the land is really the only option here and the best way to support SAISD,” he said.
SAISD Chief Financial Officer Dottie Carreon said, contrary to a previously reported estimate, the district won’t benefit from additional tax dollars as the surrounding property values improve with the new stadium or development.
“We do collect additional tax on those properties, but then the state just basically reduces that same exact amount from our operating revenues,” Carreon said. “It’s a zero-sum game for us.”
Aquino also clarified during the meeting that the district has no power to stop the planned demolition of the Soap Factory Apartments, which is owned by Weston Urban.
“I think the board is clear on that, that even if we were not to sell, that it’s not going to solve the issue of being displaced,” he said. “Actually, we’re using our value of having affordable housing to ensure that we take care of our communities and our families.”
Trustee Ed Garza said the deal is an opportunity for SAISD and a “blessing in disguise.”
“It’s a small piece of land, but this has the opportunity to pivot so many issues that have been neglected for generations, and I think this is the right time to really bring that attention forward,” he said.
Bruce Hill, principal manager of the Missions ownership group, did not immediately return a call for comment about the terms of the sale.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the last name of Gina Cramer.
