Parks currently controls the school district-owned property in Interbay on a lease that will last another 24 years, said Terry Dunning, major transaction manager for the parks department. But parks is concerned the school district will end the arrangement when the lease finally expires.
Parks owns the rest of the sports complex and leases it to the school district, while Seattle Pacific University receives guaranteed play time in the stadium because the it paid to have the stadium built, Dunning explained.
The Garfield connection came about because an expansion at the high school resulted in a football field that wouldn't be full size, he said. But the school is next to a park, which presented an opportunity. "We asked (parks) if we could acquire a 20-foot strip."
School district and parks staff have both signed off on the land swap, English said. But there is a hitch. A city ordinance requires that parks receive equal or better value in a land swap in terms of value, size and utility, Dunnning said.
"Because this is a unique opportunity, we will recommend to the (city) council to waive the ordinance," he said. "I don't think it's going to be a problem with that."
Chris Jackins does. A coordinator with the Seattle Committee to Save Our Schools, he said the assessed value of the 35,000-square-foot Garfield property is $500,000, while the 80,000-square-foot Interbay property is worth $3.5 million. "On the surface, this does not look like a good deal," Jackins said.
Dunning said the two figures were misleading because they were based on the two parcels of land being sold to developers, something that would be difficult to do with the Garfield property of its dimensions.
The school board is expected to vote on the deal on May 7.
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