San Benito High School District moves to secure second campus

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San Benito High School District took another step toward securing the Pura Vida site on Wright Road in Hollister, where it plans to build a new high school. The district’s Board of Trustees at its April 9 meeting unanimously approved the request to select JPMorgan Chase as its financier and proceed to acquire the site. 

The board also approved an assessment which found the property environmentally and humanly safe.

District financial advisor Jeff Small, who works for Capital Public Financial Group, told the board JPMorgan Chase offered $3.625 million to fund the property’s acquisition (at $45,000 per acre) and to finance capital improvements to other school facilities, at an interest rate of 4.16%. Lender fees are $10,000 and the district must pay $4.9 million by March 1, 2039. 

Small said the bid was the best offer out of the four bids the district received. Webster Bank, Zions Bancorporation and Capital One submitted offers with interest rates ranging from 4.52% to 4.67%. 

Small said the terms and conditions with the JPMorgan Chase loan align with what the district wanted.

“We wanted a 15-year loan, and we wanted to be able to prepay it early without a penalty,” he said. “This loan allows us to do that on or after March 1, 2029.”

Small said the district will have $3.5 million after deducting the loan’s cost of issuance, at $117,500. 

“About $2.2 million of that is used for the actual land acquisition, and then there’s about $1.3 million that’s going to be held and invested at the county,” Small said, adding that those funds will go toward future school facilities or work on the site. 

High school district Superintendent Shawn Tennenbaum told the board the district’s risk assessment of the Pura Vida property found it is not within earthquake and flood zones, and there are no geological hazards or above-ground tanks on the site. He said water or irrigation lines and natural gas lines were found on site, but “there are no significant risks determined for the pipelines of cells.”

Map showing location of the Pura Vida property. Image courtesy of Google Maps.

He said the district found a minimal risk for overhead power lines on the condition that the building design maintains a 100-foot distance from pole lines. In addition a risk study found train tracks within 1,500 feet east of the school site. The district has recommended the county install pavement markings and a gate system on Wright Road. 

In the Notice of Exemption report, Terraphase, the district’s environmental assessor, found the site environmentally safe. It found the soil not to be significantly impacted by past agricultural practices, as it was “restricted to certain types of pesticides, due to current farming operations certified as organic,” the report states. 

It recommended current pesticide use on adjoining properties be governed by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, which prohibits application during school hours near school sites.

Tennenbaum told the board the San Benito County Planning Commission and Planning Department submitted reports with no objections and found the property compatible with the zoning of the surrounding properties.

The district previously stated this property “provides for the potential to create a walkable, bikeable community.” Wright Road does not have sidewalks and can only be accessed through or crossing Highway 25 and via Buena Vista Road, which has a large portion that does not have sidewalks. 

When asked by BenitoLink how the district plans to make that campus walkable and bikeable, Tennenbaum said “Since we do not have any role in the residential planning process, we don’t always know when plans have been approved for new development in our area.” 

Residential subdivision recently built near the Pura Vida property. Photo by Noe Magaña.

Tennenbaum said two developments are being planned along Buena Vista Road. Stonebridge Homes is seeking approval for a 100-unit project, and Duets at Westfield (Kiper Homes) has been approved by the city of Hollister for a 130-unit multifamily residential project.

He said the district’s goal is for the school site to be “not only pedestrian, bicycle, and family-friendly, but is a safe and accessible site for future students, parents and the greater community.” 

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