School site will sprout after Mountain View property deal

MOUNTAIN VIEW — A school district has struck a deal that clears the way for a new school in Mountain View amid huge expansions by Silicon Valley tech titans that are driving the need for more housing and education facilities.

Los Altos School District has bought five parcels in Mountain View that total 11.7 acres from stalwart developer Federal Realty, as a prelude to the district’s construction of a new school to meet a widening need to educate children in the area.

The property purchase, which involved a number of moving parts, is a reminder that the Silicon Valley job boom that began nine years ago also has intensified the pressure for housing and school facilities to serve families seeking residences in the region.

“With the growth of tech companies comes the need for more housing, and with housing comes the need for more services, schools among them,” Jeffrey Baier, superintendent of Los Altos School District, said Monday.

The school district paid $155 million for the property, Baier told this news organization. The district serves elementary and intermediate — junior high school — students.

“We are going to build a school there,” Baier said. “We haven’t determined what type yet.”

As part of the deal, the district also has agreed to sell two of the acres for $20 million to the city of Mountain View, which intends to build a park on that section of the property, which is at the corner of California Street and Showers Drive.

“There are a lot of moving parts in this deal, and Federal Realty is an interested and willing participant in this process,” Baier said.

Notable retailers that are tenants on the site now owned by the school district include Kohl’s department store and Joann Fabrics and Crafts.

Since the school district is now a landlord for multiple retailers, Federal Realty will provide tenant services until the leases expire and the retailers exit the site, according to Baier.

“Federal Realty has been very helpful,” Baier said. “This shows how public agencies and a real estate developer can work together to make things like this happen.”