Palo Alto City Council releases Cubberley appraisals

The Palo Alto City Council has released two reports detailing the estimated property value of the Cubberley Community Center that the city used to negotiate a $65.5 million deal to purchase seven acres of center land from the school district.

The release comes as some opponents of Measure J — a Nov. 3 ballot proposal seeking a sales tax increase to upgrade and expand the aging Cubberley Community Center — criticize the council’s lack of transparency around how the amount was determined. If passed by a simple majority next month, Palo Alto’s sales tax will increase by 0.5% to generate $15.6 million annually for Cubberley improvements.

While Measure J can legally be used for any purpose, the city council stated its intention is to use the money to purchase the seven acres, which is owned by the Palo Alto Unified School District, and make renovations to the aging buildings.

In a special meeting on Tuesday, Vice Mayor Greer Stone said the “merits of Measure J” are being overlooked by a “whisper campaign” from opponents about what information is and isn’t mentioned in the appraisal.

“It serves all of us to release the appraisal so that way, we can have a real honest campaign on both sides that is focused on the merits of Measure J,” he said. “I think this removes that distraction.”

The two reports where commissioned in 2024 by the City Council as it considered a deal with the district to purchase the seven acres, which are adjacent to eight acres of Cubberley land the city already owns. Both appraisals were written by the San Ramon-based Valbridge Property Advisors.

The first appraisal was received by the council in August and valued the acres at $67.8 million, while the second, released in September, estimated the land at $48.9 million. Following negotiations between the city and school district, they agreed on a purchase price of $60.65 million in 2024 dollars — equivalent to the now $65.5 million purchase price, according to the city.

The 34-acre center is located on 400 Middlefield Road and nearly 70 years old. The space is the former site of Cubberley High School, which closed in 1979. The city leased the site from the school district in the late 1980s and reopened it as a community center. Nonprofit groups and community artist regularly use the center’s facilities, which include include several classrooms, a gym, a pavilion and theatre.

The city wants to update the center’s aging infrastructure and pursue ambitious plans to modernize the space, including by adding a new Recreation Wellness Center, Education Building parking lots, green spaces and a second 40,000 square-foot theatre and performing arts complex. The total cost for the renovations are estimated to be between $300 to $400 million. The city plans to rely on a mix of Measure J funds, donations and partnerships with nonprofits to foot the cost.

In 2024, Palo Alto and the school district agreed for the city to purchase a total of 15 acres to build the reimagined center. The agreement hinges on whether voters can pass Measure J and provide the $65.5 million.

Supporters of the Yes on J campaign say the the community center “has provided affordable, accessible community services in areas including education, senior services, health, culture, arts and more.”

But in an August official ballot argument against Measure J, Jeanne Fleming, co-founder of the group United Neighbors of Palo Alto, criticized the move and asked why taxpayers, “who already fund both the city and the school district, pay $65.5 million more to move public money from one to the other.”

Fleming also writes that residents don’t know how the $65.6 million price for the property was determined.

“It was established behind closed doors,” the argument reads. “City Hall refuses even to provide an appraisal of the property.”

The Palo Alto Daily Post has been seeking the appraisal report from the city since July. A California Public Record Act request from the Post was previously denied by City Manager Ed Shikada, who told the Post the council and school board needed to approve its release.