Novato schools seek developers for staff housing
The Novato Unified School District is seeking developers to submit applications to build housing for teachers and staff on district property.
The district is requesting proposals by 4 p.m. Feb. 9.
“This is not a formal request for bids, or an offer by NUSD to contract with any party responding to this request,” said Yancy Hawkins, assistant district superintendent. “NUSD reserves the right to reject any and all submissions.”
Superintendent Kris Cosca said the district does not have a specific location in mind for the housing. Instead, he said, the district is gathering proposals as part of a six-month analysis of its buildings and other facilities.
“This is part of our process of evaluating un-utilized and under-utilized properties in NUSD to achieve our goals of being fiscally responsible in the short and long-term,” Cosca said in an email.
For several years, the district and the city of Novato have been discussing various options for building workforce housing.
In 2018, there were talks about using 21 acres the district and the city own along San Andreas Drive for that purpose. District officials completed a feasibility study on the project in 2019.
The district has also been in discussions with the College of Marin about its plans to build workforce housing on the Indian Valley Campus in Novato.
In general, supplying affordable teacher and staff housing is a continuing challenge for most Marin school districts, colleges and municipalities because housing costs in the county are among the highest in the state.
Cosca said the current efforts are not geared to any specific past project or site.
“No location has currently been decided upon and we will need to conduct additional surveying of staff to determine the number of units and the type of units staff is interested in,” he said. “Our previous survey provided important information about the interest in teacher housing, but it needs to be updated.”
The request for qualified developers is the second step so far in the district’s efforts to assess its properties and facilities and strengthen finances.
In December, the district announced the formation of an advisory committee to look at which school buildings should be closed because of declining enrollment. Trustees are expected to announce the committee members at their Jan. 26 board meeting.
Developers interested in submitting qualifications can contact Hawkins at yhawkins@nusd.org.