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Council approves 50‑year lease and short use agreement for charter school site amid debate over park access
Summary
Council approved first reading of a 50‑year lease for land for a charter school campus and a companion short‑term use agreement (3 years with renewal options) that defines city access to the gymnasium, fields and courts the school will build; supporters said the school will deliver new amenities at no capital cost to the city, while critics warned the long lease could limit park access in the future.
On first reading the City Council approved a 50‑year lease for city land and a separate short‑term use agreement with a charter school applicant for a campus to be built at 2590 West 76th Street. Applicant counsel Hugo Arza told the council the school will construct a gymnasium, pickleball courts, soccer fields and a synthetic track "at the school's cost" and memorialized city access rights to those facilities in the use agreement.
Arza said the southern portion of fields and the gymnasium will be available to the city under a schedule that includes weekday evening access (including Wednesdays and Fridays during specified hours) and full availability during summer and non‑school periods. He emphasized that modifications the applicant made since the zoning approval had resulted in more city benefit than earlier proposals and said the use agreement tracks commitments the council previously required.
Council members expressed mixed views: some welcomed the capital‑value tradeoff, noting the city would have otherwise needed millions for similar improvements; others (including a member who said they "love the school" but questioned the site choice) said they were uncomfortable granting long leasehold rights to private operators on parkland and asked that the covenant and use terms be precisely memorialized so future administrations could not reduce city access. The city attorney and administration clarified the leasehold covers the school campus footprint described in the exhibits and does not convey the entirety of Slade Park.
The lease passed first reading; the use agreement also passed on first reading. The second reading and public hearing for the lease is scheduled for Oct. 14, 2025.
