A high-end, mixed-use complex with residences, retail, a hotel or all three has been proposed for the 40-acre site where Lynnwood High School now stands.
The Edmonds School Board recently gave the green light to the Edmonds School District to enter into a 99-year lease with Cypress Equities, a division of Staubach Retail Services based in Dallas.
Staubach is nationally recognized, with developments all over the country. Cypress, its retail affiliate, has built large “Lifestyle Centers” in California, Spokane, Texas, Minnesota, North Carolina and other states. It’s currently developing $800 million in projects nationwide, according to the company’s Web site.
Details of the deal with Cypress Equities won’t be disclosed until the paperwork is complete, both sides have said. But the district is expected to reap tens of millions of dollars from the lease.
District officials visited projects at Raleigh, N.C., and Dallas before settling on Cypress.
“They’re high end and very classy,” said Nick Brossoit, school district superintendent, of the company’s projects. “It’s not just a bunch of big boxes. It’s very nicely done.”
Cypress has given the district a similarly high-end proposal for the high school site, which sits across the street from Alderwood Mall, district officials said.
“It’s a beautiful concept,” said Marla Miller, assistant superintendent. “They have a number of things they’re looking at: residential, retail, hotel. The question is: How much of each?”
The proposal is preliminary and must go through a standard approval process from the city of Lynnwood. During that time, the public will have a chance to comment on the proposal.
The high school site will have to be rezoned to allow for development.
“The land is currently zoned public,” Miller said. “We’ve requested it be rezoned regional commercial like Alderwood Mall.”
The deal is not yet final. The district has reached agreement on the general terms, but details will be finalized over the next several months.
Cypress spokeswoman Pam Fleming said she didn’t know details of the agreement with the school district and didn’t want to say more “until everything is signed, sealed and delivered.”
The agreement allows the district to lease the site to Cypress for 99 years. Formulas are built in to ensure the district receives market value for leasing the property as time goes on, Miller said.
If the deal is finalized, the developer could start building in summer of 2009, after the site is vacated by students. A new Lynnwood High School is slated to open in fall 2009 in the Martha Lake area.
The district doesn’t have specifics yet on how much money the deal could bring in.
The lease deal includes a guaranteed ground rent and a share of profits from the income derived from the project, Miller said.
The district has earmarked revenues from the lease for building projects throughout the district. Voters approved a $140 million bond in February to construct the new high school and other capital projects.
They also approved the sale and lease of district properties to help pay for rebuilding Alderwood Middle School, Madrona K-8 School and Lynndale Elementary School, along with finding homes for the district’s alternative education programs and other projects districtwide.
Eric Stevick, a reporter with The Herald in Everett, contributed to this report.
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