Mountain View Whisman trustees approve sale of 50 workforce-housing units, confirm land purchase

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — On Aug. 25, 2025, the Mountain View Whisman School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to adopt Resolution No. 182525, approving the sale of an undivided 35% interest that includes 50 residential units at the workforce-housing property located at 699 North Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View and directing staff to file a notice of exemption under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The vote, made by Trustee Devon Conley with a second from Trustee Charles DeFazio, approved a purchase-and-sale agreement that the district says will help stabilize the district’s workforce-housing project by reducing long-term costs, lowering monthly rents for district employees and better aligning the number of units with district needs.

Superintendent Behr told the board the district bought out the ground lease in July for $53,500,000 and that the purchase removed an annual ground-lease payment the district estimated at about $1.9 million. "We purchased the land for $53,500,000. I'll point out that, although that's one way to phrase it, we really weren't paying for the price of the property. We were paying for getting out from under that ground lease," Behr said.

Board materials and the presentation describe the complex — referred to during the meeting as MBW Sevens (marketed as workforce housing for district employees, developed with Miramar Capital) — as a 144-unit project with 123 below-market-rate units for district employees and 20 reserved for City of Mountain View employees. The district reported that, as of the meeting, 53 of the 143 leasable units were occupied.

District staff said selling 50 units to Foothill–De Anza Community College District for $54,450,000 will reduce the district’s operating burden, remove the need for short-term Certificates of Participation (COPs) for debt service tied to the ground lease, and reduce the number of units the district directly operates to roughly 74. The presentation said the sale and land purchase together should allow the district to lower monthly rents for employees and increase access to the community for staff.

As additional measures to increase leasing options, the district said it signed a below-market-rate (BMR) agreement with the City of Mountain View that raised the qualifying area median income (AMI) threshold for the project from 120% to 150% of AMI, which the district said would increase the eligible employee pool by about 23% based on a March 2025 survey.

A public commenter, Barry Smith, praised the district’s work and urged continued cooperation and lessons learned from the project’s development. "I think this is incredibly important. Recruiting and retaining teachers are key," Smith said.

Trustees who spoke during the meeting said the transaction had been under review for months, involved outside counsel and real-estate experts, and was intended to protect the district’s general fund and focus the board back on studentLearning. Trustee Lisa Henry and Trustee Bill Lambert expressed support, and Trustee Kozlick (first name not stated in the transcript) thanked Foothill–De Anza for the partnership and said the arrangement could benefit current and future students whose teachers live nearby.

The resolution adopted by the board states the sale is exempt from CEQA, approves the purchase-and-sale agreement, and directs staff to file the notice of exemption. The motion was made by Trustee Devon Conley, seconded by Trustee Charles DeFazio, and passed unanimously (yes: 5; no: 0; abstain: 0; absent: 0; recused: 0).

Following the vote the board set future meeting dates and adjourned the special meeting.