Board discusses options for 1.88‑acre parcel above middle school offered to nonprofit for workforce housing

The superintendent briefed the Astoria SD 1 board on a 1.88‑acre parcel north of 11th Street, just south of the middle school and adjacent to Hilltop Apartments, that Classic Community Action (CCA) has proposed using for workforce housing. A CCA‑funded appraisal dated June 07/29/2024 valued the site at $942,000.

Why it matters: the district must decide whether to hold, sell, donate, or exchange the parcel while balancing its strategic interest in expanding workforce housing and legal and financial constraints around district ownership of rental housing.

The superintendent told the board the district supports additional housing but flagged attorney guidance warning against the district acting as a landlord because ownership creates risks related to tenant selection and discrimination law. “If the district was part owner of the property and housing, what would happen if there was a new ownership? Something to consider,” the superintendent said, and later summarized the attorney’s view that it is cleanest for the district to sell the land and remove itself from ongoing landlord responsibilities.

Board members asked detailed procedural questions about declaring property surplus, whether the district could set a sale price or must open it for offers, and how sale proceeds would be handled. The superintendent said surplus status requires board action and recalled a prior practice of assigning sale proceeds to a restricted special‑revenue account rather than general funds.

Members also explored programmatic options: a full sale on the open market, selling or donating the land to a nonprofit such as Classic Community Action, a land exchange that reserves housing slots for district employees, or a partial exchange combined with a sale. A community partner who participated in the discussion noted that donation contracts can include long‑term covenants (for example, 20–50 years) to keep units reserved for target income or workforce levels, while an outright sale would limit the district’s ability to demand future restrictions.

The board discussed financial feasibility. A participant said CCA does not currently have more than about $1,000,000 available to purchase the property and that a prior estimated sales price had been approximately $927,000; the superintendent repeated the appraisal figure of $942,000. Board members noted the project would likely depend on federal and state funding and would take multiple years to build.

No formal decision was made. The superintendent said she will consult further with the district’s attorney, collect additional information from the prospective landlord/manager and return the item to a regular board meeting next month for further direction.