Developer Built Schools Enhance New Community Developments

by Terry Koehne, SRVUSD Community Relations Director

 

Located in the new residential communities of Gale Ranch and Windemere in the Dougherty Valley, is a new approach to the lengthy process and high cost of building and funding new schools in California - have the developers finance and construct new schools. Very few schools in California have been built in a collaborative effort between the school district, developer, community, and the state. Because of the eventual construction of more than 11,000 homes in the Dougherty Valley (located in east San Ramon), the San Ramon Valley Unified School District will have eight such developer built schools.

 

Shapell Industries and Windemere BLC (Brookfield, Lennar and Centex) have completed construction of four new elementary schools (Coyote Creek, Hidden Hills, Live Oak and Quail Run). The first middle school in the Dougherty Valley, Windemere Ranch, opened in 2005, and the second middle school, Gale Ranch, opened in August 2008.

 

"This is a win-win situation for us and the school district," said Kevin Pohlson, Vice President of Land and Planning representing Windemere BLC. It is exciting for us because we can design the schools to complement the homes around them and the overall feel of the community."

 

The enormous task of constructing the new Dougherty Valley High School for 2200 students was a major priority for the district and developers. Shapell Industries and Windemere BLC worked together on the Dougherty Valley High School project, located at the corner of Bollinger Canyon and Albion Road. The school opened in 2007 with 9th and 10th grade students only, and expanded to grades 9-12 in 2009.

 

"The collaborative process that allows residential developers to build public schools works in our district due to a number of factors," according to Margie Brown, Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Development. "The district's Facilities staff oversees the entire process from inception through completion. The District selects a qualified, experienced school architect, ensuring that our educational specifications and equipment/material standards are met through a design committee process. More importantly, during construction, our staff closely monitors the progress and quality of construction, ensuring the school is built to last and opens on time."

 

Additionally, one more elementary school opened in 2009 - Creekside Elementary (located in the Tassajara Valley's new Alamo Creek development). If all schools are ultimately built out to their master planned capacities, these schools will accommodate nearly 8,000 students.

 
For more information on school construction, contact the Facilities Department.