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Windsor Unified signs purchase-and-sale agreement for Windsor Creek site aimed at staff and affordable housing
Summary
After multi-year negotiations, the district signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with Gallaher Community Homes to develop the shuttered Windsor Creek site for staff and affordable housing; Gallaher’s offer ties payment to unit count (floor $5.66M, up to $7.5M for 368 units), phased payments and a 99‑year revenue share that could provide ongoing district funds.
The Windsor Unified School District reported that it signed a purchase-and-sale agreement with Gallaher Community Homes for the surplus Windsor Creek elementary site, which the district closed as a school in 2020.
District staff described a long negotiation history beginning with a board‑appointed study committee in 2019 and a sequence of exclusive negotiating agreements with different parties. After declaring Windsor Creek surplus in December 2025 and issuing the required 60‑day notice of availability, the district received competing proposals and prioritized offers that advanced affordable housing, as required by law.
The Town of Windsor submitted an offer that combined roughly $3 million cash at closing with a proposed land exchange (estimated value about $1.3 million total) and possible grant funding; district staff said that offer lacked a legal pathway under surplus‑property law and was therefore not accepted. Gallaher’s offer is structured around unit counts: at the maximum scenario (368 units) the cash sale is $7.5 million, with a floor payment of $5.66 million; payments are phased (50% at certificate of occupancy for phase one) and the deal includes a 99‑year profit/revenue split that would yield an estimated $250,000–$1,000,000 annually to the district depending on project scale and occupancy. The project also would generate school impact fees estimated at $1.5–$2.5 million, depending on final unit size and count.
Board members emphasized that the district will not act as the developer: Gallaher would manage construction and operations, while the PSA includes language prioritizing unit offers to district staff and restricting the use of the revenue stream so that funds are directed toward housing subsidies rather than general facilities expenditures.
Legal and statutory context: staff cited the Education Code and the Naylor Act (which prioritizes certain public agencies for surplus school property under narrow conditions) and explained why the Town offer could not rely on the Naylor Act (required eight consecutive years of outdoor recreation use prior to surplus declaration, which Windsor Creek did not meet).
Next steps: the district will await counterparty signatures, and staff said they will work with Gallaher on details including unit count, phase schedule, prioritization criteria for staff housing and the mechanics for revenue distribution.
